Make You Feel My Love
by capturemysoul
Summary: Nathan and Haley have been best friends for as long as either of them can remember, but Nathan has always wanted more. What will he do when Haley gets engaged to another man? Can he convince her she's meant to be with him? Or will he be too late...?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Nathan and Haley have been best friends for as long as either of them can remember, but Nathan has always wanted more. What will he do when he finds out Haley's about to marry another man? Can he convince her she's meant to be with him? Or will he be too late…?**

**__****Author's Note: So I know starting another story is probably the last thing I should be doing right about now but I just couldn't help myself. For those of you who are wondering, Actions Speak Louder Than Words _will _be finished, I've just been having some writer's block that I'm trying to cure. The first thing I want you all to know is that this story is _pre-written,_ there are chapters that still need to be changed and tweaked and parts that I'm unsure about so there will probably be a few days, maybe a week, between chapters but my biggest pet peeve has always been when writer's don't update and I'm so sorry that for my last story I started to become that writer. I can guarantee you that that won't happen with this story. Please review because I love feedback, opinions and constructive criticism, I'm here to learn and to improve so whatever you've got I'd love to here it. It really motivates me and makes my day. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it! Here it is!**

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><p><em>December 11<em>_th__ 2010_

"Haley, you're not doing it right!"

"How can I not be doing it right? It's just pushing buttons!"

"Let me see that." Nathan grabbed the controller from her hands.

"Hey!" She protested.

"Look," he tilted the controller towards her. "You have to push 'A' to pass and 'B' to shoot."

"You mean the green button and the red button?"

Nathan chuckled, he couldn't help it, she was just so damn cute. He put the controller back in her hands and wrapped his arms around her so that his hands were over hers on the controller, ignoring the sensations that coursed through his body as his skin touched hers.

"See, now we're running, and then you push this green button," Nathan pressed down on her thumb, "to pass and now, push the 'red button'," Nathan guided her thumb over to the red button and pushed down as the character on the screen shot the ball into the net.

"Yes! I scored!" Haley turned to Nathan, a smile lighting up her entire face and turning his insides to mush. "Did you see that Natey! I scored!"

"Hales," Nathan groaned, "how many times do I have to tell you to stop called me Natey."

"Aww," Haley teased. "Is 'Natey' not masculine enough for you? Would you prefer something more regal, like… Nathan Royal Scott?" Haley enunciated each word of his name.

"Oh, you asked for it!" Nathan grabbed her by the waist and started to tickle her mercilessly.

"Nathan!" Haley squealed as she tried to fight him off.

"Kinky…" Nathan and Haley spun around to see Brooke standing in the doorway to the living room.

"Brooke." Nathan sighed. "How did you get into my apartment?"

"I used Lucas' spare key." Brooke smiled smugly at him.

"Lucas gave you his…?"

"Okay, so maybe Peyton stole it for me, but this is an emergency. Haley has a date in less than three hours and, look! She's hasn't even started getting ready yet!"

Nathan cringed inwardly at the word 'date', just another reminder that Haley belonged to some other guy.

"Brooke, not everyone needs three hours to get ready for a date."

"Haley, this is special, just…trust me okay?"

Haley looked up at her friend, there was no point in arguing. Brooke always got her way. "Alright, let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit Hales," Nathan teased from his spot on the couch.

Haley turned and shot him a glare. "Shut it, Natey."

Nathan glared at the back of her head as she turned to leave the room. However, as his eyes travelled from the back of her head down her body, his gaze slowly became more and more heated.

He looked up as he heard Brooke clearing her throat.

He smiled sheepishly at her. He knew it was wrong, he shouldn't be checking out his best friend, but with Haley he just couldn't help himself.

"Look Nate," Brooke gave him a soft smile. "I'm rooting for you, I am, but you either need to act now or let her go, if you wait any longer, it's going to be too late." She held his gaze for a few more seconds as if she was trying to tell him something else, but before he could figure out what it was she had turned and left the room.

He was still processing what Brooke had said when he heard hushed voices at the front door. One of them was definitely Brooke, the other was masculine, it sounded like Lucas.

"Hey man." Lucas walked into the living room and parked himself on the couch, confirming Nathan's suspicions.

"NBA Live?" Nathan asked.

"Umm… I was thinking that maybe we could talk instead…"

Lucas sounded really apprehensive. Nathan put the controllers down and turned off the television before turning back to his brother. "Sure man, what's up?"

Lucas took a deep breath, he seemed to be choosing his words very carefully. "It's about Haley."

"What about her?" Nathan tried to keep his tone neutral. He knew that everyone knew he had feelings for Haley. Hell, he was surprised she didn't know herself.

"I think that if you want anything to happen between the two of you, you need to act now."

"Lucas, you know I can't. We're just friends, it would totally freak her out. I can tell she doesn't see us as more. It's better if I just wait, maybe eventually she'll realise…"

"Nathan, you don't have that luxury. Look, all I'm saying is that if you want to make a move, now's your time to make it, otherwise, you might be too late…"

"Lucas? What are you talking ab-"

"Look, I actually have to go, I can't really say anything more than I already have but just please trust me when I say that if you want to make a move, now's your time to make it." And with that, Lucas got up from the couch and headed out of the room. Nathan heard the front door shut a few seconds later.

First Brooke and now Lucas, _why was everyone being so damn cryptic?_

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><p>After almost three hours of curling, tugging, and arguing Haley was finally ready. She looked in the mirror to double-check her outfit. Brooke had put her in a strapless red dress that came down to mid-thigh. Her blond hair was carefully curled and pulled back away from her face with a clip and her make-up was natural, with the exception of her eyes, which Brooke had highlighted with eyeliner and smoky eye shadow.<p>

"Brooke, I'm not sure. I mean this dress is kind of low, and it looks a little short."

"Haley," Brooke warned. "If I hear one more complaint out of you…"

"I love it, it's perfect, thank you Brooke, you're a goddess." Haley gave Brooke the fakest, sweetest smile she could muster.

Brooke just rolled her eyes and plopped down onto Haley's bed, picking up a magazine from the nightstand and flipping it open. "I'll be gone before you get back." Brooke smiled smugly.

"Brooke, do you know something you're not telling me…?"

"No! Just…I'm going to be at Julian's tonight if you need me, so give me a call there if you need anything. Although I don't think you will…" Brooke smiled cheekily.

"Brooke." Haley sighed. "Nothing's going to happen tonight. You kno-" Haley was cut off by the doorbell. "Okay, I have to go, make sure to lock the door when you leave, check before opening the door if you order take-out." Haley ticked off her fingers as she walked backwards towards her bedroom door, she was almost all the way out of the room when she stuck her head back in. "Oh, and if you eat anything from the fridge make sure to check the expiry dates."

"What am I? Five?" Brooke snorted before smiling. "Go on your date. Have fun, you deserve it Hales, and call me tomorrow to let me know how it went. I should be back at my place by then."

Haley smiled before heading towards the front door and swinging it open. "Hey," she smiled at the man standing in front of her. He was about six feet tall with short, curly brown hair and a boyish grin. He was lean, not thin, but not completely built either and he had deep brown eyes to match her own. "H-hi." He stuttered as he looked down at her. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you." Haley smiled. "Shall we go?"

Adam smiled at that. "We shall."

Brooke waited until she had heard the front door close before hastily pulling out her cell phone and calling her scheming partner. "Did you talk to Nathan?" She asked frantically.

"Yeah," Lucas replied. "But he's too worried about ruining thier friendship. I don't think he's going to do anything."

Brooke groaned. "This is _so_ not going to end well…"

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><p>Nathan was sitting at home playing Xbox when he heard frantic knocking on the front door. It was almost midnight and he couldn't imagine who would be here this late but he hurried to the door regardless. "Who is it?" he called out as he made his way closer.<p>

"Nathan, it's me! Open up!" He could here Haley's voice and he sped up, pulling the door open in one swift motion and looking around for Haley. "What's wrong?" The words were out of his mouth before his eyes had even located her, but once they had, all the air flew from his lungs. "Wow, Haley, you look…you look…"

A bright blush coloured her cheeks and Nathan's eyes followed it down her neck to the top of her chest, where it disappeared under the top of her red dress.

"Nathan!" Nathan broke out of his trance at the sound of his name. "I know I should have waited until morning but you're my best friend and I had to tell you right away and…"

Nathan looked at the way she was bouncing with excitement and he chuckled lightly. "Woah, there. Slow down. What exciting news do you have for me?"

Haley flashed him a bright smile before raising her left hand to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. "I'm getting married!"

And for the first time in his life, Nathan's heart shattered into a million pieces.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: So I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reviewed. You have no idea how much it means to me that you guys take the time out of your day to do that. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. It's one of my favourites. Let me know what you think!**

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><p><em>December 12<em>_th__ 2010_

Haley woke up the next morning with a smile on her face. Her smile widened as she thought about the previous night.

"_Are you finished with your dessert?"_

_Haley pushed her plate of chocolate cake away from herself. "Yes. That was delicious."_

"_I think there's one more thing we need to order though…"_

"_Adam, I really don't think I can eat anymore."_

_But Adam had already turned to the waitress. "Can you bring that one last dish out?" He shot the waitress a look and she nodded in understanding before hurrying off towards the kitchen._

"_Adam, this is really sweet of you, thank you so much, but I really don't think I can eat anything else. I'm just so-"_

"_Here you are ma'am."_

_Haley froze as she looked down at the plate before her. On it rested a small black velvet box._

"_Adam…"_

"_Haley." Adam took the box off of the plate and kneeled gently down in front of her. "You have made me happier than I could have ever dreamed of being; and you've made these past two years the best two years of my life. I just want the chance to spend the rest of my life making you as happy as you've made me. So Haley James, will you marry me?"_

_Haley looked down at Adam and smiled. She had always thought that when she was proposed to she would feel butterflies in her stomach and that there would be sparks flying, but for some reason she didn't feel that. It felt…nice. The fact that Adam wanted to spend the rest of his life with her made her feel good, but she didn't feel ecstatic. It had never been that way with her and Adam though, their romance had always been more subdued and platonic than most. _

"_Haley?" Adam was starting to look worried as he noticed that she still hadn't responded._

_The truth was, she loved Adam, and while it may not be the wild and passionate kind of love she had dreamed of when she was young, it was a comfortable kind of love. She had someone who was always there for her and who she could always trust and depend on. That was just what she needed in her life. She could use that kind of stability, especially considering her past with men. Adam was a great guy, and they both loved each other, he would always be there for her and would make her happy. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like the perfect choice, she had long ago decided to stop holding out for 'the one' and had decided that she just wanted a calm, stable, content life, and that was exactly what Adam was offering her._

"_Hales?" Adam whispered as people started to stare while Haley was just standing there, staring down at him in shock._

"_Yes." She whispered._

"_Yes?"_

"_Yes. Yes, I'll marry you." Haley smiled down at Adam and he smiled back at her before standing up and leaning down to kiss her. "I swear to you Hales," he muttered, "I'll make you the happiest woman alive."_

Haley looked down at her left hand, seeing the shiny rock glimmering there and smiled as she thought of how happy Adam had been. They had gone out after dinner to celebrate and every place they gone to had offered them free champagne as soon and they found out about their engagement. Adam's ecstatic demeanour had affected her own and by the time she had reached home, the combination of Adam's mood and all the champagne she had consumed had made her almost as excited as Adam about their engagement.

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><p>"Nathan!" A voice echoed through his house and Nathan groggily started to open his eyes before the bright light from outside forced him to snap them shut again. <em>Ugh, what time is it? <em>He wondered to himself. "Nathan!" The voice was gradually getting louder as whoever it was approached his room. "Nath- how are you still asleep?"

Nathan opened his eyes halfway and looked up to see Lucas standing in the doorway, squinting at him.

"Not the Lucas squint…" Nathan muttered to himself.

"I do not have a squint!" Lucas exclaimed indignity.

"Dude, you so do."

"Whatever, just get up. It's almost four in the afternoon and we're all going out to celebrate Haley's engage– I mean, umm…Nathan, the thing is…"

And suddenly it all came back, the reason his head was pounding, the light was burning his eyes and Lucas' voice kept ringing through his head. "Haley, she's engaged." Nathan croaked.

Lucas shot him a surprised look. "Wait, you know?"

Nathan nodded his head as he rested himself back against his pillow before draping an arm over his eyes. "Haley told me, last night."

"Oh no…" Lucas looked around for the first time and noticed the empty bottles scattered across the floor. "What happened?"

"Nothing happened. I just, I gave her a hug and told her I was happy for her, and then I told her that I had some stuff I had to get done…"

"And then you locked yourself in your room and got plastered," Lucas finished wryly.

"Hey," Nathan croaked indignantly. "You have your heart ripped out and then come and judge me."

"I did, when I proposed to Peyton for the first time, remember?"

"And if I remember correctly, you went right back to Tree Hill, got smashed, and kissed Brooke." Nathan peeked out at Lucas from under his arm with a challenging glare.

Lucas shook his head. "That's not the point."

"That's exactly the point."

Lucas just sighed. "Nathan, you know that I want you to be happy, and I know that you're in love with Haley, but Adam's a really nice guy and-"

Nathan narrowed his eyes as he dropped his hand and openly glared at his brother. "Are you saying that you think Haley belongs with Adam?"

"No! Look, I always thought that you and Haley would end up together but this isn't a Disney movie, with a hero and a villain and some happily ever after. Adam's a really nice guy and he really does seem to love her…" Lucas sighed. "It just seems like no matter how this situation ends someone's going to get hurt."

"So what are you saying?"

"I just…I just don't know what the right thing is to do here. I mean, on one hand, I've always wondered whether Haley's been in denial. I know that after the whole Felix thing she kind of gave up on the idea of true love and became scared of any kind of passionate relationship and I always wondered whether she denied her feelings for you because of that. But on the other hand, she seems to be happy and she clearly makes Adam happy, and maybe it's not our place to mess with that…" Lucas trailed off as he looked up at his brother.

"So you're saying I shouldn't fight for her?"

"I'm saying that maybe you should consider just letting her go."

Nathan closed his eyes at that. He knew that that wasn't an option, he'd spent the last seven years trying to let her go, and while sometimes he would feel like he was actually making progress, all it took was one glimpse of her and he would find himself right back at square one. "Lucas, I can't do that. You know I can't do that."

Lucas smiled sadly at him. "You might not have a choice."

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><p>"Why do I need to be here?"<p>

"Because you're one of her best friends. She needs you here Nate."

Nathan looked over at the dance floor where Haley was slow-dancing with Adam. "Doesn't look like it." He watched them for a few more minutes before standing up and making his way towards the bar. "I need a drink."

Lucas got up to follow him but Julian stuck his arm out. "I've got it. I'm new to the group, maybe it'll be easier for him to open up to someone outside the situation."

Peyton turned to Brooke and gave her a nudge as they watched Julian make his way towards the bar. "Look at your boyfriend, taking the lead like that."

"I know," Brooke smirked in his direction, "and he is getting sexier by the second."

"Mhmm," Peyton nodded.

"Hello?" Lucas waved his arms about. "Boyfriend _right here_!"

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><p>"Hey man." Julian sat beside Nathan on one of the bar stools.<p>

"What does he have that I don't?" Nathan asked bitterly, a slight slur starting to form in his words.

"Nathan, it's not a competition."

"But it is. Don't you see that? Haley's the prize." At that moment Haley leaned up and gave Adam a kiss on the cheek. "And I'm losing." Nathan added as he chugged the last of his beer before slamming it down on the bar and asking for one more.

"Look, Nathan, you haven't even fought for her. You're so scared of ruining your friendship with her that soon you're going to ruin any chance you have at being with her, and let's face it, once that happens it's only a matter of time before your friendship goes downhill too."

"Julian, she doesn't see me in that way."

"That's what I thought about Brooke," Julian shrugged, "and look at us now."

"It's not like that with me and Haley, it's… different. I can just tell, she sees me as her best friend, we'll never be anything more."

"It's your choice man," Julian looked at him, "but you've got to make one, you can't get just keep sitting on the fence, either you want her and you go after her, or you let her go and move on."

At that moment Adam leaned down and kissed Haley on the lips as she reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. Julian looked over at Nathan sympathetically and watched as Nathan slammed his hand down on the bar once more.

"Hey man, maybe you should take it easy." Julian warned.

"What can I get you?" The bartender asked.

"Can we have a round of your strongest shots please?" Nathan asked as he placed a wad of cash onto the table to pay for his previous drinks.

"Sure thing." The bartender replied and came back a few minutes later with ten shot glasses, which he placed in front of Nathan and proceeded to fill with hard liquor.

"What are you doing?" Julian asked.

"_Weee_," Nathan slurred, "are going to play a drinking game. Every time Haley and Adam kiss, we drink." Nathan looked up before grabbing a shot glass. "Look, there's one."

"Nathan, this isn't a good idea."

"Two."

"Nathan…" Julian warned.

"Drinkkkkk upppp!"

"Nathan, I'm not going to get drunk with you. Why don't you just-"

"More for me," Nathan looked back to the dance floor. "Woah, they're like making out. How many drinks is that?" Nathan turned to the empty spot beside him. "Julian?"

"Lucas, we have a problem." Julian pointed over to where he had just left Nathan at the bar, although it now looked like he was making his way over to where Haley and Adam were dancing.

Lucas jumped up from the table and he and Julian made their way quickly towards Nathan, grabbing him and pulling him away just as he was about to tap Haley on the shoulder.

"Lucas!" Nathan's face lit up when he noticed him. "Good thing you're here, I need to talk to you."

"Nathan, you're drunk."

"I'm going to fight for Haley!"

"Nathan keep it down!"

"No Lucas! I'm going to fight for Haley and there's nothing you can do to stop me! If you think it's wrong then that's too bad, because I don't care! She belongs with me, not that douchebag!"

"What's going on here?"

The three guys turned around to see Haley standing there behind them with Adam.

"Haleyyy," Nathan slurred. "I have something that I have to say to you. I-"

Lucas stepped up and put a hand over Nathan's mouth, looking at him closely. "Nathan, don't say anything you're going to regret." He pulled Nathan away from the others so that they were out of earshot.

"But Lucas, I love her. She has to know, or else I'm going to lose her."

He went to move past Lucas once more. "No Nathan," Lucas stepped in front of him. "Not like this, if you want to fight for her, then fine, fight for her but… but if you do it like this, you're just going to end up hurting her... and yourself. Now just stay here."

Lucas walked slowly back to the others before turning to check that Nathan was okay. "I think I'm going to take him home, he's really drunk."

"Is he okay?" Haley asked.

"I'm fine," Nathan replied as he came up behind his half-brother.

"Nathan," Lucas turned to glare at him. "I told you to _stay_ over there."

"You're not the boss of me," Nathan squinted at Lucas. "Besides, I don't want you to take me home, I want Haley to take me home."

"Nathan," Lucas warned. "Don't do this."

"It's okay," Haley smiled. "Adam would you be okay if we took Nathan home?"

"I don't want Adam, just you Haley, just my best…" he hiccuped, "my best friend."

Haley turned to Adam, whispering quietly, "Look, I think something's wrong, he doesn't usually get like this. Do you mind if I take him home? I think he might need someone to talk to."

Adam smiled down at her. "Sure."

"I can come back and drop the car off…" Haley started.

"No need." Brooke interjected as she came up behind the group. "Adam can get a ride home with us."

"Alright," Haley smiled. "Let's go Nathan."

Nathan draped his arm around her shoulders as they made their way out of Tric and towards her car.

"I can drive," Nathan voiced as she struggled to hold him upright while opening the passenger side door.

"I'm sure you can," Haley muttered as she helped him inside, doing up his seatbelt.

"Did you know Haley?" Nathan asked once she had climbed into the driver's seat, "that you're the best friend anyone could ever ask for?"

Haley smiled at him. "Thank you."

"Except for the fact," Nathan continued. "That you make everyone keep falling in love with you."

Haley frowned slightly, although she kept her eyes on the road as she pulled out of the parking lot. "Nathan, what are you talking about?"

"I can't tell you."

"I'm your best friend, you know you can tell me anything."

"That's the worst part."

Haley was confused. "Nathan you're not making any sense."

"I'm drunk. I'm allowed to not make any sense," Nathan slurred.

They drove in silence for a few more minutes before Haley pulled up in front of Nathan's apartment complex.

"Alright," She turned to him. "Do you have your keys?"

Nathan smirked. "Maybe you'll have to search me for them."

Haley sighed. "Nathan, are you going to continue to be this difficult?"

"Yes."

Haley just looked at him for a few more seconds before he relented and reached into his pocket, pulling out his keys.

"Thank you." Haley smiled at him as she took them from him. She got out of the car before going around to the passengers side and helping him out as well. "Woah," she gasped as she felt his full body weight against hers. "You're heavy."

"I've been working out," Nathan slurred. "I know how you like strong guys."

Haley looked up at him for a second before she started to move them towards the entrance of his apartment. "Nathan, what are you talking about?"

"I can't tell you remember?"

Haley used his key card to get them inside the building and manoeuvered them through the doors and into the elevator before pressing his floor number. She leaned them both against the back of the elevator as she let out a sigh. "This isn't you Nathan. I know that you're probably going through some stuff and that you always try to protect other people by keeping your problems to yourself, but I want you to know that whatever it is, you can talk to me about it."

Nathan groaned. "But that's the problem," he shut his eyes. "This time I can't."

Haley's eyes shot to his face, she could hear the pain in his voice and it made her heart break for him. He was such an amazing guy and he didn't deserve to be hurting like he was. She was about to say something, anything, to try and comfort him but the ring of the elevator cut her short.

"Looks like we're here." Haley pulled Nathan out of the elevator as they made their way slowly towards his room. Haley struggled again as she tried to keep Nathan up with one arm while opening his door with the other.

"I'm sorry," Nathan muttered. "I shouldn't

have made you take me home, I should have made Lucas. You shouldn't be seeing me like this. I'm supposed to be making you fall in lo-" Nathan hiccupped and then looked around, disoriented.

"Nathan it's okay, you're my best friend, and besides, you would have done the same for me."

"I would do anything for you," Nathan mumbled as she led him into his apartment and towards the bedroom. She put him down on his bed and started to remove his shoes and socks. "I don't sleep with my shirt on either," Nathan commented.

Haley just sighed as she reached her hands up to unbutton his shirt.

"Do you know how many nights I've dreamt of this?" Nathan asked her.

Haley just shook her head as she undid the last of his buttons and pushed the shirt back over his shoulders. She couldn't help but notice how much he had filled out since college.

"Do you like what you see?" Nathan asked as he noticed her staring, then looking into her eyes his voice turned quiet as he added. "It's all for you, you know."

Haley just smiled at him as she tucked him into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin before laying a soft kiss on his forehead. "I don't know what it is that's wrong, but I hope you're okay Nathan."

She turned to leave the room and was almost out the door when she heard him whisper her name. She turned around. "Yeah?"

"It's you, you're the one that's making me hurt like this," Nathan's voice turned disdainful. "Some days, I…I just hate you. I wish I had never met you. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't be feeling like this…" Nathan's eyes locked with hers for one second before they closed, and sleep finally claimed him.

Haley's eyes filled with tears as she watched him for a few more seconds before turning away, closing the door behind her. She knew that it was the alcohol talking, but for some inexplicable reason, his words had torn right through her like a knife and had hurt more than she could have ever imagined.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! The good, the bad, whatever you have to say I welcome it!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciated it. Also thank you to othlove419 for beta-ing my first chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter, leave me some love!**

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><p><em>November 3<em>_rd__ 2003_

"_Haley, he really needs your help."_

"_Lucas, I respect your decision to become friends with him and I think it's great that you two are finally becoming brothers, but I don't trust the guy."_

"_You were the one who first encouraged me to give him a chance! You were the one who said he could change! And now that he's finally started to change, you decide that you don't trust him?"_

"_Look, Luke…"_

"_This is because of Felix isn't it?"_

"_Lucas…"_

"_Haley!" Lucas exclaimed. "I'm not saying you have to date the guy, hell I'm not even saying the two of you have to be friends, I'm just asking you to tutor him. Besides, not every guy out there is like Felix."_

_Haley thought back on Felix, her high school sweetheart. He'd joined Tree Hill High her junior year and he'd been the first guy to really notice her, he made her feel beautiful and… wanted. She'd fallen for him hard and fast, and at the time she'd thought it was real love. She'd always wanted to wait until marriage before she gave herself fully to a man, but Felix had her convinced that he would be the man she would marry anyways. She had heard from the girls at school that he had booked a hotel room for that night, and she had gone there, hoping to surprise him, but when she had gotten there she had found him with one of the cheerleaders from school and had found out then that he had been cheating on her all throughout their relationship._

"_It's not who Felix was," Haley replied softly. "It was who he made me."_

"_Haley, everyone gets caught up in their first love…"_

_Haley shot him a look._

"_Even in you can admit now that it wasn't real love, you still thought you were in love at the time. The point is, that it's okay to get caught up in your first serious relationship, you can't write off ever falling in love again because of that one experience."_

"_I'm not. I'm just saying that I'm not going to lose myself when I fall in love."_

_Lucas shook his head. This had been what he'd been afraid of, that she'd lose herself once and never let herself feel again._

"_Lucas, you may not agree with my decision but as my best friend, I at least expect you to respect it."_

_Lucas nodded. "I do, I respect it Hales. You know I just worry about you, I just want you to be happy." _

_Haley's smiled softly as she nodded, "I know."_

"_But Haley," Lucas turned back to the matter at hand. "Nathan really needs your help. Besides, I've gotten to know him these past few weeks and he's really begun to change. He's not the same guy he was in high school. Now that Dan's not there to control him he's really becoming a different person. I think he just needs some help."_

"_With school?"_

"_That too."_

"_So the real reason you want me to tutor him isn't because of his grades." It wasn't a question, it was a statement._

"_Well, his grades are crap too. He really does need help with his grades, but it's more than that. Hales, he's really trying to change but he's not going to be able to do it on his own, and you were the one who originally believed he could do it. Don't you remember all those nights when you lectured me about seeing the best in people? Haley you're the one person who was able to see the good in Nathan when no one else could, and you didn't even know him then. What's stopping you from giving him a chance now?"_

_Haley looked at Lucas skeptically. "And all I need to do is tutor him?"_

"_If that's all you want, then yes, all you have to do is tutor him."_

"_Okay." Haley sighed, "I'll do it."_

* * *

><p><em>Nathan wiped his hands on his jeans as he walked into the tutor centre. He was nervous as hell. Lucas had told Nathan all about Haley and had warned him numerous times what would happen if he did anything to screw up. <em>

_He searched around for the girl Lucas had described and his breath caught in his throat as his eyes met with a pair of chocolate brown ones across the room. He moved involuntarily towards her as he took in her honey blond hair and the way it framed her face as she flipped through the pages of the thick, worn book in front of her. _

"_Can I help you?"_

_Nathan snapped out of his daze as he realised the girl was now looking up at him._

"_H-Hi. I'm um… I'm looking for Haley. Haley James. She's umm… she's, well she's supposed to be my tutor." Nathan mentally smacked himself, he'd never been this nervous around a girl before._

_She looked slightly hurt for a moment before giving him a small smile. "I'm Haley James."_

"_Oh." All the breath whooshed out of him. Lucas had mentioned that Haley was beautiful but Nathan had always just assumed that he was saying that because she was his best friend. He'd seen Haley before in high school but he hadn't paid much attention to anyone in high school and all he remembered about her was her dark brown hair and her old, knitted poncho. "You… you look different, from what I remember… from high school."_

_Haley raised her eyebrows. "You knew who I was in high school?"_

"_Yeah, of course! Well, kind of… sort of…" Nathan took a deep breath. "Okay, no, not really. But I was an ass in high school, I didn't really notice anyone."_

"_Was?" Haley asked._

"_Yeah," Nathan nodded. "I'm not that guy anymore."_

"_Good," she smiled as she looked into his deep blue eyes. She couldn't help but notice that they were much darker than Lucas', and much more captivating. "Now let's get started."_

Haley smiled as she thought back to that day. That was the first day she met the real Nathan Scott, and while at the beginning he would occasionally revert back to his old-self, those instances got less and less frequent as time passed. Haley was so proud of the man he was today, he had turned into such an amazing person. Her smile faltered however, when she thought about the previous night. His words still rang in through her head. _I hate you. I wish I had never met you…_

* * *

><p><em>December 13<em>_th__ 2010_

"Hey, Nathan." Nathan heard a soft voice beside him.

"Go away," Nathan muttered as he pushed his face further into the pillows. "It's too early."

"Well, this brings back old memories," he could hear the smirk in Peyton's voice. "Although, if I remember correctly, you only wanted me to leave _after_ the sex."

Nathan groaned as he turned his head to the side to glare at her. "What do you want?"

Peyton smiled softly at him. "What happened last night? Haley called Lucas after we got home, she sounded pretty upset. She said something about you hating her."

Nathan groaned again. "I might have said something like that."

"Nathan!"

Nathan squeezed his eyes shut. "Peyton, keep it down."

"But you…"

"I know." Nathan muttered. "I was drunk, and I wasn't thinking, and I, I don't know…"

Peyton shook her head. "You _need_ to go talk to her."

"I know," Nathan closed his eyes. "I just don't know how I'm going to get her to talk to me."

"It's _Haley,_ Nathan. You know she'll talk to you. She's just hurt." She noticed the dejected look on his face. "No. I'm not going to let you wallow in your own self-pity. You're going to get up, get ready, and come with me."

Nathan smiled weakly. "You bossing me around? This reminds me of old times."

* * *

><p>Nathan knocked on the door and was surprised when Adam opened it. "Hey," Adam smiled. "I'm guessing you want to talk to Haley."<p>

Nathan lowered his head. "I guess she told you."

"Look," Adam put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "You were drunk, we all say things we don't mean when we're drunk. Haley knows that, she just needs some reassurance." Adam stepped aside as he let Nathan in. "She's in her room."

Nathan stepped inside and watched as Adam took a seat on the couch, turning the television on to make it clear that he wasn't going to intrude on whatever conversation they were about to have. As Nathan looked at him in that moment, he hated him more than he had ever hated anyone. He hated him because he got to have Haley, he got to share this place with her, to wake up every morning and look into her eyes and know that she was his. But more than that, he hated Adam because he knew that Adam deserved her. The guy was fucking perfect.

"Nathan," Nathan looked up to see Adam looking over at him sympathetically. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine, just go in there and talk to her."

Nathan clenched his teeth to keep from saying something he was going to regret. He knew Adam was only trying to help. So instead he nodded politely and made his way down the hall to Haley's room. He knocked softly on the door.

"Come in." He heard a soft voice call. He entered the room and stopped short at what he saw. Haley was sitting on the edge of her bed with her back turned to him. He could tell from the slight hiccups in her breath that she had been crying recently.

"I'm sorry Adam," He heard her say. "I know you probably think I'm making a big deal out of this, but it's just that he's my _best friend_ and I know that something's wrong but he just won't tell me what it is, and I just keep thinking back to see if I could have done something to have hurt him because… you should have seen his face… he was hurting so bad…"

"Haley…" Nathan murmured as he moved towards her.

She turned to him and he could see the tears glistening in her eyes. He sat beside her on the bed and wrapped his arms tightly around her, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head as he felt her tears soaking into his shirt. "Haley, I'm so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you and I didn't mean what I said. I don't hate you, I love you, you're my best friend."

"I love you too Nathan," Haley replied softly, and even though he knew how she meant it, it didn't stop his heart from skipping a beat. "And I never meant to hurt you. I don't know what it is I did but-"

"Shhh…" Nathan silenced her. "You didn't do anything. I was just really drunk, it was just the alcohol talking."

"But there was something you were upset about…" Haley pressed.

"No…" Nathan muttered. "I'm not upset about anything. I was just scared that… with you getting married and all, that I was going to lose my best friend."

Haley pulled back and gave him a small smile. "You could never lose me Nathan."

Nathan smiled back at her before pulling her close again, hoping that, for just one second, he could be there with his best friend without feeling the searing pain of his heart breaking in his chest.


	4. Chapter 4

_****_**Author's Note: I just wanted to say thanks so much to all of you who reviewed, it means a lot. I try my best to reply to all my reviews but if for some reason you don't want a reply just let me know! Sorry this chapter is a little late, things have just been so crazy. Anyways, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>January 20<em>_th__ 2011_

"Honey, I'm home!"

Haley's laughter sounded from the kitchen. "You sound like the husband from a cheesy sitcom."

"Well I am hopelessly in love," Adam smiled at her as he entered the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe.

"Have you been cheating on me again?" She teased.

His smile remained on his face but his tone was serious. "You know I could never do that to you."

"I know."

Adam watched her for a second as she turned back to the peppers she was chopping. "Do you need some help with that?"

"Sure, there's some carrots in the fridge that need to be chopped up."

Adam nodded and headed towards the fridge.

"How was Charlotte?" Haley asked as she continued to chop.

"It was good. The case is coming along well; although I wish I could start up a business here instead so that I wouldn't have to leave you like this."

"I don't mind." Haley gave him a small smile.

"Yes, you do," Adam smiled down at her lovingly. "You may pretend that you don't but I know you better than that Haley James."

Haley looked up at him. "I know that it's your work, but it's just... you moved in six months ago and I still see you less than once a week."

"I know," Adam sighed. "And I wish I could be here more but…"

"I know. It's your job, and I know how hard you worked to get to where you are. I would never ask you to give that up, sometimes I just wish…"

"That I could be here more," Adam finished for her as he gave her a soft smile. "I know, me too."

Haley smiled back at him before returning her attention to the peppers in front of her. It was true that she missed Adam, but she also knew that she didn't miss him enough to cost him his job. She didn't feel like a piece of herself was missing when he wasn't around and she didn't count the minutes until he returned. When she missed him, it wasn't the way she had imagined missing the love of her life, it was the way she imagined missing… her best friend.

* * *

><p>"Luke, this is killing him."<p>

"What else can we do? Haley's in a happy relationship and Adam's a nice guy who seems like he really does love her."

"But… Nathan..."

"I know, but there's nothing we can do. Besides, Nathan's a grown man, and he seems to be handling himself just fine."

"Lucas, you and I both know that that's bullshit! He got drunk and told her he hates her! Clearly, he's not fine!"

"Peyt, that was over a month ago…"

"You think things are different now? Have you _seen_ the look on his face when he's with her? I know you're a guy but even you can't be that blind."

"Hey!" Lucas exclaimed indignantly.

"He's hurting Luke. There's no way he can keep doing this. He's going to break, he can't keep this inside forever."

"It's not going to be forever." Lucas wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "He just needs some time to get over her."

"He can't!" Peyton exploded and she sat forward, letting his arm fall back down onto the bed. "Lucas, do you remember what you wrote about me in your book?"

"Of course-" Lucas started but Peyton was already up and digging through the nightstand drawer. She finally found what she was looking for and pulled the book out before flipping to the right page and reading aloud, "And in that moment, my triumph was not a state championship, but simple clarity, I was, and forever would be, in love with Peyton Sawyer." Peyton turned to Lucas. "Don't you see?" She asked softly. "It's the same for Nathan and Haley, he'll never be able to get over her Luke…"

* * *

><p>"Exactly, I understand what you're going through. I used to be an NBA player myself. Nathan Scott. Yes, of course I miss it but that's not the point. If it wasn't for my injury, I wouldn't be where I am today. I signed with Fortitude and I didn't regret it, that's the reason I'm working for them today. Just think about it, I think it would be a really smart choice."<p>

Nathan put down the phone and sighed. Every time he talked to someone they asked him about whether he missed his basketball career. Of course he missed it, how could he not? He had only been in the NBA for a year, and he had spent that year living out what he'd thought was his dream, playing for the L.A. Lakers, before he'd had it taken away. The strange thing was, when he lost his dream, he realised that he didn't need it. It had been what the high school version of himself had wanted. He had always been off at away games and charity functions. It wasn't until he'd gotten back to Tree Hill and seen Haley standing there waiting for him, with open arms, that he realised that he'd never wanted the NBA, and that as long as he had her, he'd be the happiest man alive. _But you don't…_ the voice in the back of his head taunted as he remembered back to that day…

_Nathan searched the crowd of people waiting for him, looking for Lucas. He'd told Lucas that he would be coming back today, and he'd given him the time of his flight. _Where was he?_ It wasn't like Lucas to be late._

"_Nathan!"_

_Nathan stopped short. He'd know that voice anywhere. He turned slowly, his heart racing in his chest, and his breath caught in his throat when he saw her standing there waiting for him, her arms spread wide. He'd forgotten how breathtaking she was. She rushed towards him and enveloped him in a hug. He squeezed her tightly, placing a kiss on her head and inhaling the scent he had gone so long without._

"_Nathan, I am so sorry about your knee, I know you must be so upset to have lost your dream…"_

"_It's fine." Nathan looked down at her with a smile. "I'm fine, really." And he was telling the truth, for standing there in her arms, he didn't even remember why he had ever wanted basketball. This was his dream. Haley, was his dream._

Nathan shook his head as he though about that night. He had planned on finally telling her that night, telling her that he was in love with her. It was supposed to be the best night of his life but it had quickly turned into the worst. That was the night he had found out she was with Adam.

"You didn't answer the door."

Nathan's head shot up at that.

"Peyton and I, we're worried about you."

"I'm fine," Nathan said gruffly as he went to put the phone back.

"No, you're not."

"Lucas, just-"

"What happened to fighting for her?"

"What?"

"That night, last month when you were drunk, you said you were going to fight for her. What happened?"

Nathan shook his head. "Reality kicked in. She's happy Luke, I can't mess that up. If I really love her, I have to let her go."

"Do you really think you can do that?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know. Maybe not, but I at least owe it to her to try."

"You know," Lucas started. "After I proposed to Peyton and she said no I decided that I was going to let her go. I was going to move on. Fresh start. Clean slate."

Nathan looked up at him.

"It didn't work. I couldn't get over her and I kept fighting it until one day, I just gave in, and that's the reason we're together today. If I hadn't called her and if she hadn't met me at that book signing, I don't know where either of us would be today, but I sure as hell know that we wouldn't be happy."

"This is different Luke," Nathan shook his head.

"Is it? It's all love isn't it? Nathan, you've loved her for _seven years_, do you really think those feelings are just going to go away? You know her better than anyone else, hell you even know her better than I do, and I've been best friends with her a lot longer than you have."

"What's your point?" Nathan sighed.

"My point is, you know all her faults, all her weaknesses, and you still love her, even after all this time, even after she's _engaged_ to another man. Nathan this isn't going to go away."

"Well what do you want me to do?" Nathan exploded. "I've tried Lucas! Believe me, I've tried to get her to see me like that but she doesn't. I'm just her friend, she'll always just see me as her best fucking friend. So what do you want me to do?" Nathan's voice had lost its anger and by the time he finished, all Lucas could hear was hurt.

"You can fight for her," Lucas offered.

"But you said…"

"I was wrong. If she's the love of your life then you need to fight for her, either that or you're going to lose her forever."

Nathan shook his head as he rested his elbows against the table, bowing his head.

"Just think about it," Lucas said before turning towards the door. He cast one last concerned glance at his brother, hoping he would make the right choice, before leaving the apartment. He had done all he could, it was up to Nathan now.

* * *

><p><strong>Will Nathan take his advice? Will it work? Leave me a review and let me know what you think!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed, it really means a lot. And I'm sorry this update is a little later than usual, things have just been so busy and I like to read the chapters over a few times before I publish them so I can make sure there are as few grammatical errors as possible. Anyways, this chapter is a little short but I'm hoping to have the next one up soon! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>April 17<em>_th__ 2004_

"_Haley?"_

_The door opened on the other side to reveal Haley in a pair of pyjamas bottoms and a camisole. She had no make-up on and her hair was tied up into a messy bun but Nathan still thought she looked breathtaking. She had been tutoring him for close to six months now and they had become really good friends, but Nathan couldn't help the growing attraction he felt towards her._

"_I know it's late but…"_

"_No Nathan, it's fine. You know I'm always here for you." Haley opened the door further and he stepped into her dorm room. It was small, with just a bed and a desk, but somehow, it was still...Haley. Books were piled on top of the desk and photos of her family and friends were taped up onto the walls._

_Haley grabbed his hand and led him across her room, sitting beside him on her bed. "What's wrong?" She ran a hand up and down his arm and Nathan tried his best to ignore the shivers he felt._

"_My dad called today," Nathan started. He noticed the way Haley nodded sympathetically, urging him to continue. "He said my mom had tried to kill herself, apparently she over-dosed on drugs."_

_He watched as Haley's eyes widened, suddenly brimming with tears. "Oh Nathan…" She wrapped her arms tightly around him as she rubbed a hand soothingly up and down his back._

_Nathan rested his head on her shoulder as he talked into her neck. "I guess, before, I never had anyone that I could talk to about this kind of stuff, and I just thought, that maybe…"_

"_Nathan, you can always come to me with anything."_

_Nathan pulled back to look into her eyes and in that moment, with her looking back at him so sincerely, he knew without a doubt that he was in love with her. He couldn't help himself, he leaned forward and kissed her, and the most amazing thing happened, she kissed him back._

_He had spent so long imagining what it would be like to kiss Haley James, but this was more amazing that he ever could have imagined. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip, begging for entrance, which she instantly granted him and as their tongues tangled he couldn't help but let out a moan. _

_Suddenly, Haley pulled away, and she looked up at him in amazement. "Nathan…"_

"_Haley, I lo-"_

"_I can't, I can't do this Nathan." Nathan's eyes shot up to hers and he was surprised to see tears glistening there._

"_Haley, no, don't cry."_

"_I- I have to go…"_

_Nathan watched as Haley ran out of her room, some of her tears spilling onto her cheeks as she did so._

Nathan rinsed the suds out of his hair as he let out a soft sigh. He remembered how he had gone to her the next morning and apologized for kissing her. He had told her that he was just upset and hadn't been thinking clearly. And after that day they had pretended it had never happened. It seemed Haley had forgotten about it, but Nathan couldn't, he wouldn't. As he stepped out of the shower he went through his plan in his mind, he loved Haley, and somewhere deep down, she had to love him too. She didn't kiss him back for nothing. And he was going to prove it to her.

* * *

><p><em>January 24<em>_th__ 2010_

Haley re-adjusted the tie on her purple cardigan as she tugged on her tank top. She added some light mascara and a touch of lip-gloss before making her way towards the front door. Nathan had called unexpectedly that morning asking her if she wanted to come over for a movie night. They used to have them all the time back when they were in college. At first, it used to be herself, Nathan and Lucas, but after a while Friday had become the only night Lucas could Skype with Peyton, and eventually, it had just been the two of them. They used to alternate between movies of her and his choice and she had brought a stack of her favourite movies with her. Adam was out at a business dinner anyways, so it was nice to have some company.

She smiled as she headed out the door and towards her car. She hadn't had a movie night in a while and she couldn't help her excitement. Recently, she'd felt so old, Adam was a few years older than her and their relationship was very mature. She hadn't felt like a young in a while and she missed it. Before she knew it she was pulling up in front of Nathan's apartment complex. She waited while he buzzed her in and then she headed up to his room.

He had opened the door before she even had time to knock and she noticed that he had dressed up in a pair of dark jeans a deep navy blue button down that brought out the blue in his eyes. She knew that most people didn't notice these things about their best friends, but Haley also knew that her friendship with Nathan was anything but normal. Her affection for Nathan was stronger than it was for any of her other friends and that was simply because the two of them were so close. And sure, sometimes she would get 'more than friendly' feelings towards him, but he was an attractive guy, and it was bound to happen to anyone.

"Are you just going to stand there? Or would you like to come inside?" Nathan smirked at her.

"What?" Haley forced herself out of her daze as she look up at him sheepishly. "Oh, yeah, that sounds good, thanks." Haley walked into the apartment, not really aware of her surroundings, but she stopped short when she reached the living room.

"Nathan what…?" She looked around the room. The lights were off and candles had been lit on various surfaces throughout the room. Haley froze as she realised what was going on, and she was surprised at the jealousy she felt. _You have no reason to feel that way,_ she told herself as she took a deep breath, pasting a teasing smile onto her face. "Did you have a date over?"

Nathan looked at her for a moment, he seemed surprised that she had come to that conclusion. "No…I…just…"

Haley smiled again, trying to make it look more realistic. "Nathan, I'm your best friend, you don't have to lie to me."

"Okay…" Nathan seemed to be studying her, gauging her reaction, and trying to determine what to say next. "Yeah, that's what it was. I had a date over earlier."

"I could have come later," Haley said as she took a step towards the door.

"No!" Nathan exclaimed. "I mean…no, stay, it didn't work out anyways so…"

Haley couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at that. "Good...I mean, I'm sorry, that it didn't work out."

Nathan smiled. "It's fine. What movie are we watching first?"

"I get first pick?" Haley's face lit up with a smile and Nathan chuckled. "What?"

"Nothing."

She gave him a stern look.

"It's just…it's cute, when you get all excited like that."

"Thanks." Haley could feel the blush burning at her cheeks. For some reason they always heated up when she was around him.

"First movie?" He asked her.

"Casablanca, obviously." Haley smiled as she heard Nathan groan.

"Finally!" Nathan exclaimed as the final credits rolled across the screen.

"Oh, shut up!" Haley laughed, "You loved it."

"Haley you can only watch that movie so many times before you go insane."

"Hey! It's timeless. And it's better than that disgusting Saw movie that you like…" Haley stopped when she saw the look on his face. "That's your choice isn't it?"

Nathan just smiled at her.

"Oh no, not again!"

Nathan got up and put the movie into the DVD player. The truth was, he liked the movie, but that wasn't the real reason why he had always picked it for their movie nights. Nathan turned around and made his way over to his chair, "Come on." He motioned towards her and smiled as she climbed onto his lap. The first time they had watched this movie she had been so scared she had spent the whole night in his lap with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. After that night, that had become their regular movie night position, maybe it was because Nathan picked Saw every time, but just as long as she was in his arms, he was happy.

Haley climbed into his lap as he started the movie. As it progressed her hold on him grew tighter and tighter. Nathan, however, couldn't tear his eyes away from Haley for long enough to even glance at the television screen.

At some point in the movie Haley turned her head to look at him, she must have felt his gaze, and yet, as his eyes locked with her chocolate brown orbs he knew he couldn't look away. Her face was just a few inches away from his own and he could feel her warm breath on his face. She was looking up at him with such wonder in her eyes and he could feel himself starting to lean in closer. Her lips parted for him and his heartbeat sped up. Her lips were less than an inch from his own and he closed his eyes in anticipation. Suddenly, someone screamed on the television and he felt Haley jump in his arms. She pulled back, her eyes wide with surprise.

"I- I have to go." She rushed out.

"Haley, it's only 9:30. The movie hasn't even finished yet." Nathan protested. That couldn't have been just him, she must have felt that too.

"I'm tired. It's been a long day. I'm really sorry, but I just…I have to go." And with that she grabbed her bags and rushed out the door.

Nathan stared after her retreating form and couldn't help but be reminded of that night, seven years ago. He placed his head in his hands as his voice dropped down to a whisper. "Haley, why are you doing this to me?"

* * *

><p><strong>I know, probably not what you guys were hoping for, but things will start to make a little more sense in the chapters to come. Next chapter explain a little of Adam's side of things. Let me know what you think! <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

_January 25th 2010_

"The poor guy."

"Peyton…"

"Lucas, she almost kissed him and then just… left! She can't do that to him!"

"This isn't our business."

"Nathan is our friend, and he's hurting, so it is our business." Peyton turned away from him as she cracked another egg into the pan. "We need to do something."

"Like _what_? What can we do Peyton? She loves Adam, and he's a nice guy, and as much as we all want her to be with Nathan, it's not our choice to make!"

"How do you know?" Peyton turned on him.

Lucas' brow furrowed. "How do I know what?"

"You keep preaching about how Adam's such a great guy and how he loves Haley so much but how do you know that's true? How much time have you actually spent with the guy?"

Lucas thought about that for a second. The only time he'd ever spent with Adam was when he tagged along on group outings, and even that was rare as he was usually up in Charlotte working. "What are you saying we should do?"

"I don't know. I'm just saying that you should make sure you actually know him before you make all these assumptions."

Lucas thought about it before nodding his head. "Okay, you're right." He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, slowly kissing her neck. "I love you, you know that?"

"I kind of like you too." Peyton smiled as she leaned back into him.

"And I love the fact that you're so protective of Nathan. I think it's good that he has someone like you around. You're a good person Peyton Sawyer."

Peyton smiled at that. "So are you. I know you're only trying to look our out for your best friend, and I get that. I just think that maybe Nathan needs some looking out for too."

* * *

><p>"Are you sure that's a good idea?"<p>

"Of course it's a good idea."

"You realise how pissed Nathan's going to be if he finds out we hung out with Adam…"

"Yeah, about that…" Lucas paused. "I don't think we should tell him."

"…"

"I know that we're all rooting for Nathan, but this isn't our decision to make, and if she's going to choose Adam, then shouldn't we at least make sure that he's a good guy and that he really loves her? We've done it for everyone else."

"You didn't do it with me." Julian objected.

"Sure we did. Remember when Nathan and I asked you to go play basketball with us down by the Rivercourt?"

"The time you guys kept hitting me in the head with the ball…?"

"We just wanted to make sure you could control your anger, you can never be too cautious."

Julian shook his head from his end of the line. "I guess I should be glad that Brooke has friends like you guys looking out for her."

"See man, that's the spirit. So are you in?"

"Yeah, I guess." There was an awkward silence for a second before Lucas heard a female voice in the background from Julian's end of the line. "Oh shoot, Brooke's calling, I've got to go."

Lucas fake coughed. "Whipped."

"Shut up. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay. Tric. Eight o'clock. Don't forget."

"I won't."

* * *

><p>The second Nathan walked into the club he headed straight for the bar. He <em>needed<em> a drink, especially after last night with Haley. "I'll have a beer."

The bartender nodded before turning to the guy beside him. "And for you?"

"Three more."

Nathan's head snapped up at the familiar voice. "Julian?"

"Um…hey," Julian looked at him nervously.

"Hey, what's up? You here with Brooke?" Nathan looked around. "I needed to ask her about-"

"Actually…" Julian shook his head. "Brooke's not here."

Nathan followed Julian's line of vision and noticed Lucas and Adam sitting at the opposite end of the bar, chatting it up like old friends.

"Excuse me." Nathan stepped around Julian, heading straight for Lucas, his beer long forgotten. "Lucas, can I talk to you for a minute?" Nathan grabbed his arm as he hauled him a few feet away.

"Look, Nathan…"

"What the hell man? What is this? You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Nathan, there are no sides! But for what it's worth, I am rooting for you and Haley."

"Sure looks like it."

"Look, I want you guys to end up together okay? But, it's just…just in case," Lucas watched as Nathan cringed at that. "You know, just in case things don't work out like that, I want to make sure that Adam actually is a nice guy, and that he really does love her."

Nathan's eyes snapped shut at that. He didn't like to think about that possibility that Haley might not choose him. He couldn't. "Lucas…"

"I know." Lucas patted his shoulder. "But wouldn't you want to know that she's safe?"

"_I_ can keep her safe."

"Nate, I know that, and I know that you don't like to think of the alternative, but you have to prepare yourself okay? Just in case. I need to know that if for some reason, things don't go as planned, that you're going to be okay."

"But I'm _not_ okay Luke. And as long as this prick is in her life, I'm never going to be okay."

Lucas shook his head sympathetically. "I understand that. But you have to understand that if _you_ want to be in her life, you're going to have to get to know him."

Nathan shook his head, he knew what Lucas was saying, and he couldn't bear to hear it. "You…you don't think she's going to choose me."

"Nathan, I don't know who she's going to choose. I just think you should prepare yourself in case…"

"No. I can't do this. Not right now. I need a drink." Nathan turned on his heel and headed right back to the bar. "Forget the beer, get me the strongest drink you have."

* * *

><p>"How did you start up your own business?"<p>

"It was hard, for a while I really struggled, it took a good two years just to get the business off the ground. It really difficult to build up a cliental for a company no one knew of, but it was my dream, I kept at it, and now here I am."

"So how did you meet Haley?" Julian asked.

"Well, it was two years ago. Haley had just finished her first year of teaching and I was still struggling with my company. I had come to Tree Hill to try and scope out some potential clients and I used to stop by at Karen's Café to get lunch every day. Haley had offered to help Karen out over the summer and I became one of her regulars. By the end of the month I knew I was in love with her and finally, at the end of the summer, I asked her out." Adam smiled wistfully.

"So you waited three months to ask her out?"

"Yeah. To be honest…" Adam looked around himself to make sure no one else was within earshot. "I'd always thought that Haley was in love with Nathan." The three men turned to look at Nathan who was sitting at the other end of the bar getting himself good and drunk before turning back to look at each other; Lucas and Julian sharing a wide-eyed look.

"What?" Lucas was the first to respond, his shock evident in his voice. "Why?"

"I don't know. Every time I talked to her she had just been talking to him or texting him or something like that. And the way she talked about him, it was so… I don't know, you could tell that he meant a lot to her. It's just the way you usually talk about the person you love. It was like she saw Nathan the way that I saw her. Sometimes I still wonder though, you know? It's just, I love her so much. I know that she's the one for me, and if I were to lose her…I don't know what I'd do."

"How can you be so sure? That she's the one for you I mean?" Julian asked as he shot a glance over to Nathan.

Adam shook his head. "I don't know. It's one of those things you just know. I mean, I've never been in love before but I can't imagine that it can get any better than this. After two years I still think she's perfect."

"You don't know what love is."

All three heads shot around to see a very drunk-looking Nathan standing there behind them.

"What- What are you talking about?"

Nathan shook his head. "Haley's not perfect."

Adam looked up at him confused. "Well I think she is."

"Well then you don't really know her, and you don't really love her."

"What are you talking about? Are you okay?" Adam reached an arm out to try and steady a swaying Nathan.

"Don't touch me." Nathan spat as he pushed Adam off of him. "If you really loved her you would love her _because_ she's not perfect. The fact that you think she is just proves that you don't even know her."

"Look, Nathan. I didn't mean to offend you. I'm sorry. I know you're really close with Haley and I'm sure you're really protective of her but you don't have to worry about me. I love her. I'd never do anything to hurt her."

"Of course you wouldn't. You're fucking perfect. Whatever, you have her, you've won, just… I'm just…I'm done. Whatever. I don't care. Do with her what you want. I'm out of here."

Lucas took a step forward. "Here, I'll take you home."

Nathan turned on him quickly. "I'll take a cab, you stay here with you're new _buddy_." He shot Adam one last glare before storming out of the club.

"Wha- Is he okay?" Adam turned to the other two men.

Both men looked at each other.

"I've got this one." Julian announced heading towards the door.

Lucas nodded before turning to Adam. "Maybe we should just call it a night."

Adam nodded. "I'll come by to clear things up with Nathan in the morning."

Julian stopped in his tracks and Lucas looked over at him incredulously.

"What?"

"You're going to go _clear things up_ with Nathan, after everything he just said to you?"

"Look," Adam took a deep breath, "Haley's told me all about you guys, and from what I know, you guys all seem like really nice people, especially if you're friends with Haley. I plan on spending the rest of my life with her, so I hope that somehow I can show you guys that I really do love her and that we can all get along."

"Even after Nathan just…?" Julian trailed off, not knowing how to describe the scene that had transpired several moments earlier.

"I'm not naïve," Adam smiled, "I knew what this was from the start. 'Test out the new guy, make sure he's not some jackass.'"

Lucas and Julian looked down.

"Don't be embarrassed, I think it's great that Haley has you guys looking out for her and she's told me about how close she and Nathan are. I get that he's really protective of her and that it might take him a while to trust me. I don't blame the guy and I respect him for looking out for her. I just hope that in time I can prove to him that I'm not going hurt Haley and that my feelings for her are real."

Lucas looked at Julian and could see his thoughts reflected in his friend's eyes. They had gotten exactly what they had wanted, Adam's feelings were just about as real as could be. Adam had said everything they had wanted to hear and yet, he realised, he was wrong. This was not what they should have been hoping for. This just confirmed his suspicion that no matter how this situation turned out, at least one heart would be broken by Haley' wedding day.

* * *

><p>Lucas walked into his house, closing the door quietly behind him, knowing Peyton must already be asleep. His heart ached for his brother, he could see how much he was hurting, and it made him all the more grateful that he had Peyton. He didn't know what he would do without her. That one year they had spent apart had been the worst year of his life. More than anything he wanted to be her husband, and he wanted her to be his wife, but he knew how well that had ended last time, and he knew not to push it. He sighed as he quietly pushed the door to their bedroom open.<p>

Candles were lit on every surface of the room and red and white rose petals were strewn across the floor, starting at the door and trailing to the mattress, where Peyton sat. She was wearing her Pink Floyd t-shirt over a long sleeved white top and her sexy jeans with a hole in the knee. Memories from three years ago rushed back to him as he took in her outfit. His breath caught in his throat as he noticed the little black box in her hand. "Lucas…" She started, looking up at him.

"What…what's this?" Lucas choked out as he moved to sit beside her on the bed.

"I was just thinking," Peyton rolled the box over in her hands, "about Nathan and…about us. I mean Nathan he's…he's found the love of his life and he can't be with her, and I just…I love you Lucas. You're the love of my life, and when you asked me to marry you the first time I was scared and I told you I wasn't ready but I can't bear the thought of losing you and I know that you're the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. I _want_ to be married to you."

"Are you…are you saying what I think you're saying?" Lucas couldn't hide the hope in his voice.

"Marry me Lucas Scott." Peyton smiled at him.

Lucas beamed at her before leaning over to capture her lips in a searing kiss. "You've just made me the happiest man alive."

* * *

><p><strong>There you go! Hope you enjoyed it! Tell me what you think!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

_****_**Author's Note: Just wanted to say thanks so much to all of you who reviewed. In this chapter you'll get to see Nathan actually try and fight for Haley. I know my past few chapters have been a bit short but that's because they've been leading up to this one! Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>January 26<em>_th__ 2010_

Nathan knocked on the door as hard as he could, ignoring the way it made his head pound. He needed to do damage control. He had woken up this morning and all of the memories from the previous night had come rushing back to him. He had no doubt that Adam had told Haley all about the things he had said the last night and he would be lucky if she ever spoke to him again. He really needed to stop drinking. The first time he had told Haley he had hated her and now he had told her fiancé that his love for her wasn't real. The strangest part was that Nathan knew that what he had said was, in part, true. He knew that Adam loved Haley, that was clear enough, but he also knew that Adam didn't really know Haley. Haley was different when she was around Adam. It was like she tried extra hard to be the _perfect_ girlfriend. That was what annoyed him, she shouldn't have to do that, she should just be able to be herself. He knew that if she was with him she wouldn't feel the need to be someone she wasn't. She never hid herself from him, if she was angry she yelled and if she was sad she cried and he wouldn't want her any other way. He loved the fact that she could just be herself around him and he loved the fact that she wasn't perfect; it made her human, and it only made him love her more.

It just wasn't fair. He knew her better than anyone else in the world and he loved her, all of her, and yet he couldn't have her. Adam, on the other hand, who had only known her for two years, who barely knew her and rarely saw her, was about to marry her. _What did Adam have that he didn't? _Sure, the guy was practically a saint, but it was clear that Haley didn't belong with Adam, not the way she belonged with him. If only she would open her eyes and _see it… _If only she could look past the fact that he was her best friend and see how much he loved her. He knew he would wait forever if he had to, as cheesy as it sounded there was nothing else he could do. He had loved her for seven years and he knew that that was never going to go away. That was what hurt so much, the fact that he knew that even if she married Adam, he would never get over her. He would be Uncle Nathan, the guy that sat on the sidelines all throughout her life and watched as she raised a family with another man, loving her all the while. He would be Keith, and he knew how well that had turned out…

Nathan was broken out of his daze as he felt two arms wrap around him. He looked down, shocked, to see Haley standing there, her head pressed against his chest. He hadn't even heard her open the door; nevertheless, he couldn't help but wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly to him.

"What's wrong?" He heard her murmur against his chest.

Nathan shook his head. "How did you know something was wrong?"

Haley pulled away slightly to look into his eyes. "I know you Nathan Scott, you can't fool me," she smiled softly. "Want to talk about it?"

Nathan shook his head again. "Not right now."

Haley nodded in understanding and took his hand as she led him into the house. She walked into the kitchen and headed over to the stove. "I was just making some mac and cheese. You want some?"

Nathan smiled. "Sure."

After Haley had filled two bowls with pasta she led them both over to the living room and sat them down on the couch. "Spill."

"Spill what?"

"Come on Nathan. You clearly came here for a reason, something's bothering you, and whatever it is, you need to tell me."

"There's nothing to tell."

"You and I both know that's not true." Haley looked at him sadly. "What were you thinking about out there?" She pointed to the door. "I've… I've never seen you look like that before Nathan, it broke my heart to see you looking like that.

Nathan just looked down at his food.

"Nathan I'm your _best friend_, and it hurts me that you feel like you can't trust me…"

"That's not it…"

"Then what is it?" Haley was starting to get a little agitated.

"It's just… it's not as simple as all of that."

"It can be, all you have to do is tell me what's wrong."

Nathan exploded. "_But I can't!"_

Haley quieted down at that, as she looked up at him wide-eyed.

"Haley… I'm, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you, I just, this is something I need to deal with on my own and it's really hard."

Haley shook her head. "You shouldn't have to deal with anything on your own, that's what I'm here for. I know you always try and protect everyone else by going through stuff on your own but I don't care Nathan. I don't need protecting, whatever it is, whenever you're ready, you can tell me."

Nathan looked at her, maybe she was right. He was tired of trying to fight his feelings, tired of trying to hide them. Maybe he just needed to tell her, to get it out there in the open. "Haley I-"

"Hey baby, sorry I'm late, if it's okay I'm going to run out and stop by Na-" Adam froze as he entered the living room. "…than's." A smile spread across his face. "Hey, I was just going to stop by your place."

Haley looked between the two of them. "You were?" She didn't know why but she had always gotten the impression that Adam and Nathan didn't like each other very much.

"You were?" Nathan repeated. Then, looking between Adam and Haley he suddenly remembered why he had come here in the first place, to beg for Haley's forgiveness; but he had been so caught up in their conversation that he hadn't realised that she didn't seem to be mad at him. As he looked between her and Adam the realisation dawned on him…she didn't know about last night.

"Yeah, I know that we didn't get to finish our…uh conversation, last night, and I was hoping that we could, you know…talk."

"Yeah," Nathan stood, unable to hide his shock. "Sure, no problem."

Haley, sensing the two men needed their privacy, grabbed her and Nathan's dishes and headed for the kitchen. "I'm going to go over to Brooke's, she wanted my measurements for this new dress she's designing."

"Bye honey." Adam called as she left the kitchen and headed out the door.

"Bye!"

"So…" Adam started as he looked awkwardly at Nathan after they had heard the door slam shut.

"You…you didn't tell Haley, about last night..." Nathan couldn't help his curiosity.

Adam nodded in affirmation.

"But…" Nathan looked at him, baffled. "Why not?"

Adam shook his head. "Why would I? Haley's told me all about you and I know that you're a good guy. I know that you weren't really yourself at the bar yesterday and I get that you may not like me but I don't see why that should affect your friendship with Haley."

Nathan shook his head. The guy really was a saint. "I'm sorry, about last night. I was drunk and I was a dick."

Adam smiled. "Don't worry about it. I get it. You're her best friend and you worry about her and I'm just this random guy that showed up out of nowhere and asked her to marry him. I know that I'm not here much, and that most of you don't know me very well, but as I told Lucas last night, I'd like to change that. And I know that you think I'm going to hurt Haley but I'm not. I really do love her and I really would do anything for her."

Nathan nodded. He could tell that Adam really did believe that he was in love with Haley, and maybe he was. Nathan of all people knew how easy it was to fall in love with Haley James.

He opened his mouth to respond when Haley came rushing back into her apartment. Her phone glued to her ear as she grinned at them. "Oh my God! Peyton and Lucas just got engaged!"

* * *

><p><em>January 30<em>_th__ 2011_

"I still can't believe you're engaged," Haley mused as she looked around the club.

"I know," Peyton beamed.

Brooke looked between the two of them before pouting. "That means that I'm the only one who's not engaged."

"You and Julian have been dating for less than a year, don't you think it's a little soon to be thinking about marriage?"

"I don't know," Brooke sighed. "I mean, I've never felt this way before. Not even with Lucas, it's just, it's different…"

Haley shook her head. "I never thought I would see the day when Brooke Davis wanted to settle down."

"I don't know you guys, the games were fun in high school but I'm not that girl anymore, and I just want to have someone that I love, who loves me back, and who I can start a family with."

Peyton raised her glass. "Amen to that sister."

"So, tell me, how did he do it?" Brooke turned to Peyton eagerly.

"How did who do what?"

"Lucas! How did he propose?"

"Yeah… about that… I kind of proposed to him."

"You what? Peyton!"

"What?" Peyton asked defensively. "The last time he proposed to me we ended up breaking up for a year. I knew there was no way he was going to take that chance again."

"I think it's great," Haley smiled. "You should have heard him when he was on the phone with me."

"Oh believe me," Peyton smirked, "I did. I thought I was supposed to be the girl in the relationship."

Haley laughed at that. "I know, he was more excited than I was when I got engaged."

"Speaking of," Peyton started, "where is the fiancé?"

"He had some work to do," Haley shrugged, "he said he'd meet us here."

Peyton and Brooke shared a look. "He works an awful lot," Peyton commented.

"Yeah," Brooke agreed. "Shouldn't you guys be in the love bubble right now?"

Haley turned her head to give Brooke a quizzical look. "I'm sorry, the _what_?"

"You know? The love bubble. Where you're all lovey-dovey and blind to everything else but each other." Brooke shrugged. "Like Peyton and Lucas right now."

Haley turned and noticed the two of them sharing looks across the room. Peyton's phone vibrated and Brooke grabbed it off of the table as she read aloud, "_Peyton, you're eyes are so beautiful that I simply can't look away. I can't wait for us to spend the rest of our lives together. I love you._

"Hey!" Peyton cried indignantly as she reached forward to try and pry the phone from Brooke's hands.

"Hey look," Brooke commented. "There's more… _"I love to hear your laugh , you have no idea how happy you've made me. Every time I see you it makes my heart race._"

"Brooke!" Peyton clambered onto her lap as she continued to reach for her phone.

Haley looked over at Lucas and saw an affectionate grin on his face as he watched his fiancé wrestle with her best friend. She got up and made her way over to him. "Hey Luke."

"Hey," He turned to smile at her.

"You look happy."

He beamed. "I am."

Haley smiled back at him. "I'm glad."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?"

"Happy."

Haley was silent for minute. "Of course I'm happy. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, it's just, you and Adam, you seem so…platonic. I know that you both love each other but I've never seen either of you really passionate about each other."

"Not everyone needs a passionate relationship." Haley commented.

Lucas was silent for a moment before he turned to her. "Do you really love him?"

"Of course I-"

"No but are you really _in_ love with him?" Lucas interrupted. "Just, think about what I'm asking you, okay Haley? Think about if you're _really_ happy, because happy and content are not the same thing. You're an amazing person and I don't want you to settle for a comfortable life because you're afraid of getting hurt."

"Lucas, I'm not-"

"Just…" Lucas gave her a pleading look, "think about it okay. That's all I'm asking, just really, honestly think about it."

Haley nodded. "Okay, I'll think about it."

"Good." Lucas nodded.

The two stood there in awkward silence for a few moments before Haley decided to start up some casual conversation.

"So, have you set a date?"

"April twenty-sixth," Lucas smiled.

"April twenty-sixth? That's in…like three months!"

Lucas nodded. "We've already waited four years, we didn't want to wait any longer."

"Looks like they're going to beat us Hales."

Haley spun around to see Adam standing behind her. She hadn't even heard him approach. "You made it!" She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek before pulling away and giving him a teasing grin. "You're the one who wanted a spring wedding."

He smiled at her. "Good point."

"It's going to be a busy three months," Lucas commented. "With our wedding in April and then yours in May."

Adam nodded in agreement. The three stood there in silence for a few moments before Adam turned to Lucas. "Where are Julian and Nathan?"

"Julian stepped out a little while ago to take a call and Nathan…" Lucas trailed off for a second.

"What is it?"

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise but…"

"Luke, you know how much I hate surprises. Just tell me already."

"Chris is here."

"Chris? As in Chris Keller?"

"Who's Chris Keller?" Adam cut in.

Haley turned to him. "You know how I told you about that tour I went on in my sophomore year of university for a few months?"

Adam nodded.

"Chris Keller was the guy who I was touring with. Nathan had convinced me to sing at an open mic night one time and he had been in the audience. He had been about to go on tour with The Wreckers and had convinced Michelle Branch to let me tour with them. That was how my career started."

"I never liked the guy," Lucas muttered.

Haley laughed. "He takes a little getting used to. He has an… interesting sense of humour and sometimes he can be a little inappropriate, but he's harmless."

"Speak of the devil…" Lucas mumbled as he looked up on stage.

"Hey everyone!" Peyton smiled out at the audience. "I'm Peyton Sawyer and I would like to welcome to the stage Tree Hill's very own, Chris Keller!" She motioned behind her to where Chris sat on a stool with his acoustic guitar on his lap and the crowd broke out into cheers.

"Hey everyone," Chris started after Peyton had left the stage. "For this first song I would like to welcome a special friend of mine up onto the stage."

Haley looked wide-eyed at Lucas. "He doesn't mean…"

"Haley James!"

The crowd broke out into applause as Haley stood there in shock. "_This_ was my surprise!"

Lucas looked as confused as she did. "No, Nathan wouldn't blindside you like this, this is all Chris."

They all looked up to see Chris smirking at Haley. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to get up here and sing with me?"

Haley made her way over to the stage and Chris smiled as she walked over to him.

"It's good to see you Hales."

She smiled back. "It's good to see you too!" Before reaching up to give him a hug as she whispered menacingly into his ear. "When this is over, you are _so_ dead."

Chris just chuckled. "Feisty as always." He then turned to address the audience. "I'm sure most of you know Haley James from her recent album 'Feel This', but as many of you don't know, Haley had the pleasure of touring with me many years ago." He turned to Haley. "So, what do you think, 'When the Stars Go Blue'?"

The crowd erupted into cheers at that and before Haley could even respond the backtrack had started.

_Dancing where the stars go blue  
><em>_Dancing where the evening fell  
><em>_Dancing in my wooden shoes, in a wedding gown_

She looked to Chris and smiled. She hadn't realised just how much she had missed this. Singing with him. This was the glue that had held together their friendship. As different as they were, and as much as he often grated on her nerves, this was the one thing that they both completely understood. Music.

_Dancing out on Seventh Street  
><em>_Dancing through the underground  
><em>_Dancing little marionette  
><em>_Are you happy now?_

Chris gave her a smile as they started singing together.

_Where do you go when you're lonely  
><em>_Where do you go when you're blue  
><em>_Where do you go when you're lonely  
><em>_I follow you when the stars go blue  
><em>_When the stars go blue_

Haley was so wrapped up in her performance that she didn't notice the two sets of eyes that were glued to her.

_Laughing with your pretty mouth  
><em>_Laughing with your broken laugh  
><em>_Laughing with your lovers song, in a lullaby, yeah  
><em>

_Where do you go when you're lonely  
><em>_Where do you go when you're blue  
><em>_Where do you go when you're lonely, I follow you  
><em>_When the stars go blue, when the stars go blue_

She and Chris of them looked over at each other as they finished off the song and Haley couldn't help but laugh. She hadn't realised how much she had missed this, performing live. She looked to the cheering crowd and it brought a smile to her face.

She turned away from the microphone as Chris gave her another hug.

"Thank you for this." She whispered to him.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" He asked her.

She pretended to ponder the option for a minute before pursing her lips. "I guess so."

Chris laughed. "Good. Now get off my stage and stop stealing my spotlight."

Haley gave him a playful shove and let out a laugh before making her way off of the stage. "You and your spotlight."

"Haley! That was awesome!" Haley barely had time to steady herself and Brooke flung herself into her arms. "I haven't heard you perform in _so_ long!"

She pulled away as Peyton, Lucas, and Julian all nodded in agreement. Nathan and Adam both stood off to the side as they watched. The group talked about Haley's performance for a few more minutes before Brooke pointed towards the bar. "Celebratory drinks?"

Everyone nodded in agreement as they started to make their way towards the bar. Adam and Nathan, however, stayed behind. "I'll meet you guys there in a second," Haley nodded towards the rest of the group before turning to the two men in front of her.

Adam stepped forward first. "That was amazing! I've- I've never seen you sing before."

Haley stopped at that. "Yes you have…" She trailed off as she thought about it. "Oh my gosh, no you haven't…" He had heard her records before, but he had never actually seen her sing live.

"How come you've never sang for me before? You're voice. It's beautiful."

Haley smiled shyly. "Thanks and, I don't know, I guess we just never got around to it."

Adam nodded. "Well, I'm going to go join your friends by the bar." He looked between Nathan and Haley. "Are you coming?"

"Umm…" Haley looked at Nathan. "I'll meet you there in a second."

Adam nodded before making his way over to her friends.

"That was amazing."

Haley turned her eyes away from Adam's retreating figure to meet Nathan's piercing gaze. "It's been so long since I've heard you sing." His voice dropped slightly. "You've always been most beautiful when you're singing."

Haley couldn't help the slight shiver she felt at his words. "Oh, stop it…"

"I'm serious. It's like I get to see into your soul. You always let your guard down when you sing."

Haley smiled at him. She didn't know how he had noticed that. She had always felt the most free when she was singing. It was like she could truly be herself and no one could judge her for it. "Come on," She grabbed his hand, ignoring the tingles that shot up her arm. "Let's go join our friends."

* * *

><p>"How long has Chris been up there?" Lucas asked, irritated.<p>

Julian laughed as he started up another song. "Apparently not long enough."

Adam's phone rang at that moment and he looked down at the caller I.D. "I'll be right back, I have to take this." He gave Haley a soft smile before heading to the back of the bar.

Julian checked his watch. "It's getting kind of late. Maybe we should call it a night."

"No!" Nathan exclaimed.

Everyone turned to look at him. "I mean… um… I just figured that Haley would want to at least stay until Chris was done. You know, to catch up and stuff." He looked up at the stage for a moment before his eyes darted to Haley. "I'll be right back," He muttered. "I have to grab something from the table."

Haley looked after him quizzically. Nathan had never liked Chris. He had always thought that Chris was sleazy and trying to get into her pants. In fact, he had been so adamant about her not spending time with Chris, that at one point he had threatened to end their friendship if she went tour with him. Of course, after she had gone on tour and Nathan had seen that nothing had happened between her and Chris, he had eased up and he and Chris and formed a sort of…truce with each other. But still, it seemed strange for Nathan to be encouraging her to spend time with him. Just as she was about to question him about it she heard Chris' voice through the microphone.

"This song is dedicated to Sandy from Batman. 'I know it's a little late, but I hope the romantic in you hasn't given up yet. I just didn't know how to tell you…'"

_I shouldn't love you, but I want to  
><em>_I just can't turn away  
><em>_I shouldn't see you, but I can't move  
><em>_I can't look away_

Haley's eyes panned across the club until they met with Nathan's as Chris started strumming on his guitar. She still remembered the Halloween of their sophomore year of university. He had gone as Batman and she had gone as Sandy from Grease because her boyfriend had wanted her to dress 'hotter'. She remembered that Nathan had told her he didn't like it, that it wasn't her. When she had asked him how he could say that he had told her that he knew her better than anyone, that she was perfect as she was, and that if her boyfriend wanted her to change then he was an idiot.

_I shouldn't love you, but I want to  
><em>_I just can't turn away  
><em>_I shouldn't see you, but I can't move  
><em>_I can't look away_

Haley smiled as a rush of nostalgia washed over her. She had always given Nathan grief over his taste in music back in college and one day he had walked into her dorm room and caught her listening to this song. She remembered how he had made fun of her for listening to Jesse McCartney at nineteen.

_**Flashback**_

"_Hales, Jesse McCartney, really?"_

"_It's just this one song!"_

"_Whatever you say…"_

"_It's just…I don't know." Haley's face turned bright red as she looked down at her feet._

_Nathan smirked. "Oh no…now you have to tell me."_

"_You'll make fun of me."_

_Nathan looked at her seriously. "I won't, promise."_

"_Well," Haley blushed as she looked up at him through her lashes. "As embarrassing as this is… When I was in high school, I always used to wish that my boyfriend would serenade me with this song."_

_Nathan winced for a second before his face regained its composure. "Did he?"_

_Haley shook her head. "No, and eventually I grew up and realised that those things don't happen in real life, but when I listen to this song, it reminds me of when I was young and innocent and hopelessly romantic." _

_**Flashback end**_

She couldn't believe that he had actually remembered this song. After their conversation that day she had made him promise to never speak of it again.

_And I don't know, how to be fine when I'm not  
><em>_Cause I don't know, how to make a feeling stop_

_Just so you know  
>This feeling's taking control<br>Of me a__nd I can't help it  
><em>_I won't sit around  
>I can't let him win now<em>

_Thought you should know  
>I've tried by best to let go<br>Of you b__ut I don't want to  
><em>_I just got to say it all before I go  
><em>_Just so you know_

Nathan looked over at Haley to see her smiling and swaying to the music. After their movie night he had realised that he couldn't keep doing this, he needed to let her know how felt and have her make the final decision. He had heard this song on the radio the other day and had immediately thought of Haley. He had never really listened to the lyrics up until that point but when he did, he realised how much they resonated with the way he felt about her. The second he had found out that Chris was in town and was playing at Tric, he had gone to him and asked him for a favour and surprisingly, Chris had agreed. Nathan looked over at Haley to see that she was still looking up at the stage. He needed to see her reaction. The suspense was killing him. He had been too scared to do anything before now, for fear of losing her, but he had finally realised what his brother had been saying all along. He knew that there was no way that he could continue to be just friends with Haley and if he continued to try and hide his feelings he was bound to do something to mess up the relationship anyways.

_It's getting hard to, be around you  
><em>_There's so much I can't say  
><em>_Do you want me, to hide the feelings  
><em>_And look the other way_

_And I don't know, how to be fine when I'm not  
><em>'_Cause I don't know, how to make a feeling stop_

_Just so you know  
>This feeling's taking control<br>Of me a__nd I can't help it  
><em>_I won't sit around  
>I can't let him win now<em>

_Thought you should know  
>I've tried by best to let go<br>Of you __but I don't want to  
><em>_I just got to say it all before I go  
><em>_Just so you know_

_This emptiness is killing me and I'm wondering why I waited so long  
><em>_Looking back I realise it was always there just never spoken  
><em>_I'm waiting here, been waiting here…_

Haley turned to glance over at Nathan once again and was shocked to find that he was staring right back at her, his piercing blue eyes boring into hers, an unreadable expression on his face. She shivered involuntarily and quickly turned away from him and focused her attention back on the stage.

_Just so you know  
>This feeling's taking control<br>Of me a__nd I can't help it  
><em>_I won't sit around  
>I can't let him win now<em>

_Thought you should know  
>I've tried by best to let go<br>Of you b__ut I don't want to  
><em>_I just got to say it all before I go  
><em>_Just so you know_

_Thought you should know, I've tried my best to let go of you  
><em>_Just got to say it all before I go, just so you know…_

Nathan sighed as Chris finished up the song. He couldn't even begin to describe how nervous he was. He had been trying, for so long, to figure out a way to tell Haley he loved her, and this was the most romantic thing he could think of. If she turned him down now, he didn't know what he would do. He tried to pluck up his courage to turn around and face her, taking a deep breath as he turned.

"Nathan!"

Before he could even comprehend what was happening Haley was in his arms with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. Nathan rested his head in the crook of her neck and breathed in her intoxicating scent. She still hadn't told him what she had thought about his confession, but he figured it was a good sign that she hadn't gone running off to find Adam. He squeezed his arms tighter around her and savoured the moment for a few more seconds before pulling away to look into her eyes. "So…"

Haley beamed at him. "Thank you so much Nathan. That was so sweet of you! I can't believe you remembered!"

Nathan's eyes turned a shade darker as they bore into hers. "I remember everything about you."

Haley could feel herself start to shiver again. _It must be cold in here_, she thought to herself, brushing off the feeling that swept through her at his words as she wrapped her arms around him once again. "You're the best friend anyone could ever ask for."

Nathan took a step back at that. He felt like he had just gotten punched in the stomach as the realisation dawned on him. "Haley, you don't understand…"

* * *

><p>Adam hastily walked back into the club. He hadn't meant for that call to take as long as it had. He had promised himself that today would be about himself and Haley and that, for once, work wouldn't get in the way. Clearly that hadn't turned out as well as he had planned.<p>

"This song is dedicated to Sandy from Batman. 'I know it's a little late, but I hope the romantic in you hasn't given up yet. I just didn't know how to tell you…'" Adam smiled at that, remembering what it had felt like for him to fall in love for the first time. His gaze followed his thoughts over to Haley; he froze however when he noticed her looking across the club at Nathan. Nathan turned to look back at her and Adam couldn't help but notice the look in their eyes as they gazed at each other. He continued to look between the two as he listened to the words of the song and when it was finally finished he was dismayed to see Haley run up to Nathan and jump into his arms.

He headed towards the bar where Haley's friends were sitting. He knew if he went over to her right now he would lose his temper and he couldn't do that. He needed to talk to her when he was calm. When he approached the group he noticed Brooke squealing. "He finally did it!"

"Did what?" Adam asked as he came up behind her.

Brooke spun around, eyes wide open. "Umm… Lucas finally…learned how to tie his own shoes…" She let out a nervous laugh. "Can you believe it took him this long?"

Julian chuckled along with her, punching Lucas lightly in the arm. "Wow man, I guess you really do need Peyton."

Lucas just glared at the two.

"Hey, Brooke?" Adam looked around the bar, trying his best not to look over at Nathan and Haley again. "Can I talk to you alone for a second?"

"Okay…" Brooke looked at the group nervously.

Lucas noticed the look on Adam's face and turned to his fiancée. "Come on Peyton, want to dance?"

Peyton looked nervously between Adam and Brooke. Brooke looked at Adam for a second before turning back to her friend. "It's okay, go. I'll catch up with you in a minute."

Julian looked at Peyton and Lucas as they headed off to the dance floor before turning back to find Brooke and Adam looking at him expectantly. "Right. I'll just…well I'll…yeah…" Julian muttered as he headed off in some random direction.

Brooke looked after him for a second, an amused smile on her lips, before turning back to Adam. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

Adam took a deep breath before looking across the bar. Brooke followed his gaze. "Oh."

"Look, I trust Haley, and I know that she would never do anything to hurt me but…is there something going on with her and Nathan?"

Brooke sighed.

"He's in love with her isn't he?" Adam asked.

Brooke was silent.

"Does she- does she love him back?" Adam turned to Brooke as he spoke the words.

She could see the pain in his eyes and it broke her heart. As much as she was all for Haley and Nathan getting together, she liked Adam, and she didn't want his heart to get broken in the process. After all the lies he had been given, she just couldn't bear to lie to him anymore. "Honestly," Brooke looked over at him, a sympathetic smile on her face, "Not consciously but..."

Before she could continue Haley appeared beside them. "Adam!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey," Adam smiled.

"You okay?" She asked. He looked a little distant.

"I'm fine." Adam smiled. "Just a little tired."

"Yeah," Haley smiled up at him. "We should head home."

"You don't want to meet up with Chris?" Adam asked.

"I'll meet up with him later. He's staying for a few weeks."

Adam smiled before taking Haley's hand as the two headed out of the club.

Brooke looked after the two for a few moments before turning to see Nathan standing beside her. Catching the torn expression on his face she ran a hand soothingly up and down his back. He looked at her for a moment before sitting down beside her and putting his head in his hands.

"What happened?" Brooke asked softly.

His reply was muffled, "She doesn't know."

"Doesn't know? How can she not know? That song…"

Nathan shrugged, still not looking up from his hands.

"Oh Nathan," Brooke muttered softly as she wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders. "She loves you too, I know it. Just give her some time to realise it."

Nathan just shook his head. "What if it's too late?"

* * *

><p><strong>Coming up next!<strong>

**- Adam and Haley finally talk about her relationship with Nathan  
>- Haley confronts Nathan about his weird behaviour<br>- Adam hangs out with the group and Haley makes some interesting realizations**

**Please leave me a review and let me know what you think and what you would like to happen. As I've said, an overview of the story has been written but I'm still very open to suggestions and input. I also love constructive criticism, whatever you think, I'd love to hear it!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: I just wanted to thank everyone for their reviews. I really enjoyed the feedback I got! Hope you enjoy this chapter. I also got some feedback regarded Adam as a character and I just wanted to say that although he may seem to be an unrealistic character, he _is_ in fact very human. I do believe that all people and characters have flaws and that those need to be present for a character to be well-rounded. The reason why Adam appears to be perfect at the moment is because he is only being seen from Haley and Nathan's point of view and they both see him as flawless at this point. His character does have more depth to it though and that will come out later in the story. Again, thanks so much for all the feedback, it was really great to see what you guys liked and didn't like, I'm going to take all of it into account as I go over the rest of the story and try to fit your suggestions in as best I can!**

* * *

><p><em>February 8<em>th<em> 2011<em>__

Haley's eyes opened slowly as she heard the front door open and close. She turned onto her side as she waited for the bedroom door to open and squinted as the light from the hallway flooded into the room. "Hey."

Adam jumped. "Hey, I didn't know you were awake."

Haley gave him a soft smile. "I thought I'd wait up for you."

Adam looked at her for a moment before nodding and reaching up to remove his tie.

"Adam?"

He stilled his movements as he lifted his head to meet her gaze.

"Is something wrong?"

Adam shook his head. "No, everything's fine. Why?"

"I don't know." Haley bit her lip nervously. "You just, you've been acting different lately, that's all."

Adam looked down before meeting her gaze. "Just stressed with work."

Haley nodded, it was clear that something else was bothering him but if he didn't want to talk about it she would wait until he was ready.

"What were you up to today?" Adam asked casually as he started to remove his jacket.

"Not much. I gave the students a new assignment, they weren't too pleased about that." Haley laughed as Adam chuckled lightly. "I tried calling Nathan too but he didn't pick up… again. I feel like he's been avoiding me since last week at Tric."

Adam's back was now turned to her as he unbuttoned his shirt but she could see him tense up as she mentioned Nathan's name.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?" His voice was strained, she could here it.

"Is it Nathan?"

Adam turned to face her, his expression tense and controlled. "Is what Nathan?"

"Whatever it is that's been bothering you?"

Adam shook his head.

"Adam," Haley sighed, "please don't lie to me."

Adam's control slipped at that. "No. _You_ don't lie to _me._"

"What?" Haley was taken aback.

"Is there something going on between the two of you?" Adam blurted out.

Haley's eyes widened, she had not expected that. "No! Adam, how could you even ask me something like that?"

"Haley, he's in love with you, how can you not see it?"

Haley got up from the bed and walked over to where Adam was standing. "Adam, nothing is going on between me and Nathan. We're just friends. Nathan doesn't feel anything for me other than friendship."

"Haley, you and I both know that's not true. I've tried to ignore it, but I can't do that anymore."

Haley just stared at him, wide-eyed. "Adam…"

"No Haley! Either you're in denial or you're just completely oblivious but either way, you can't keep doing this! It's not fair to me, it's not fair to you, and, as much as I hate to say it, it's not fair to Nathan either. You need to figure out what the hell it is you want because I can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?" Haley took a step forward, her temper rising as well. "Adam, when have I ever given you a reason to doubt me? I've never lied to you, I've never cheated on you, I've never done anything to give you any reason to doubt me, so how dare you accuse me of this!"

Adam looked at Haley shocked for a few moments, taking a few deep calming breaths, before his face softened. "Haley…you're right. I'm sorry. I- I'm not trying to accuse you or say that I don't trust you, because I do. I know that you'd never intentionally hurt me, just like I'd never intentionally hurt you. But it's just… I've seen the way you look at him and the way he looks at you. That guy is in love with you Haley, whether you're willing to admit it or not, and I just- I guess I just need you to acknowledge that so that you can know if you love him back. I can't lose you Haley. I love you. But if you're in love with Nathan…" He trailed off.

Haley stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her fiancé. "Adam, I love you, and you have nothing to worry about. You're everything any girl could ever want in a guy."

Adam pulled away slightly and lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. "But am I what _you_ want?"

Haley looked at him for a second before looking away. "Of course," she muttered softly, unconvincingly.

"Haley…"

"Adam, I like everything about you. You treat me well and give me everything I could ever need."

Adam noticed that she didn't say _love_. She _liked_ everything about him. "Haley, it's just…sometimes I feel like you see me as…I don't know, as like a, roommate or something. I know that you care for me, and even that you love me, but sometimes I wonder if you're actually _in _love with me." Haley looked into his eyes to see the hurt swimming there. "I'm _in love_ with you Haley. I don't know if I ever told you this but you're my first love and I just, I don't want to lose you."

"Oh Adam." Haley tightened her arms around his waist as she held him to her.

Adam rested his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. He noticed that while she hadn't confirmed any of his fears, she hadn't denied them either. He wanted to talk to her about it but he also knew that this wasn't the time, it was late and they were both tired but he also knew that they couldn't just ignore this. He loved Haley and he wanted to marry her, but he needed to know that she loved him the same way and at this point, he was starting to wonder if he knew anything about Haley at all.

* * *

><p>"I'm coming!" Nathan called out as he walked quickly towards the door. He quickly pulled on a pair of basketball shorts over his boxers before swinging open the door.<p>

"Haley."

"Hi," Haley smiled timidly at him.

Nathan just stared at her for a few moments. He hadn't seen her in a week and he had missed her like crazy. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry," Haley blurted out.

"Wh-What?" He was confused.

"I don't know what I did but it's clear that I've done something to upset you and I don't want that. Whatever it is that I did, I'm sure I didn't mean to do it, I would never want to hurt you. I just- God, I've missed you Nathan." Haley quickly closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso, burying her face in his chest.

Nathan rested his head atop hers, breathing in that vanilla scent that was just so… Haley. "I've missed you too," he murmured into her hair, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Haley pulled away slightly to look into his eyes. "Nathan, please tell me what it is that I'm doing."

"Haley, you're not do-"

"Yes, I am, Nathan. Come on, we've never avoided each other. That's what was always so great about our friendship, if we had a problem, we talked about it. We weren't afraid to tell each other how we felt. What's changed?"

"Nothing," Nathan muttered, looking down.

"Well clearly something has. You've been avoiding me all week, and recently, you've just…I don't know, you've been acting differently around me. It seems like being near me seems to cause you some sort of physical pain." She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice at that last part.

Nathan looked down into Haley's eyes and could see unshed tears glistening. "Haley," he breathed, reaching up to cup her cheek in his hand. "I'm sorry…"

"I don't want you to apologize Nathan!" Haley stepped back out of his embrace. "I want you to tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, I can handle it. Just…just open up to me, _please_." Haley could feel her eyes watering as she saw the indecision on her best friend's face. She knew that he was guarded, that he rarely ever let anyone in. But she had never been one of those people, it was one of the things that made their relationship so special. No matter how he treated everyone else, and how he acted around them, he was always himself with her. He had once told her that she was the only person he had ever let all the way in, and that with her he never had to hide himself. But it seemed as if all that had changed. "You're not going to tell me, are you?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"Haley…"

She took a step towards the door. "I don't expect you to tell me every little detail about your life Nathan. I'm not trying to be unreasonable. But I want you to be able to trust me. I know that you're strong, and I know that you can deal with things on your own, but you shouldn't have to. That's what I'm here for Nathan. I'm here for you to lean on when things get to be too much."

"It's not…" Nathan started before changing course, "I can handle it."

"Can you Nathan? I've known you for seven years and I've never seen you like this." A few tears rolled down Haley's cheeks as she looked at him. "Everyone else may think you're fine but I know you better than that Nathan. And it just…it kills me to see you like this Nathan. I can't bear to sit here and watch you go through this and not be able to help you."

"Hales…" Nathan reached out towards her but before she could react a shrill ringing cut through the sombre atmosphere.

Haley reached into her pocket and pulled it out before looking at the Caller ID. "Adam," she muttered softly to herself when she saw who it was. She debated answering for a moment before hitting the ignore button. She knew that she and Adam needed to talk, but Nathan needed her right now. She hastily put her phone back in her pocket and looked up to see Nathan's tense back.

"Nathan?" She reached out and rested her hand gently on his shoulder but he seemed to tense up even more at her touch.

"You should take that," he muttered.

"Is this…is this about Adam?" Haley asked baffled. "Did something happen between the two of you?"

Nathan was silent.

Haley let out a frustrated sigh. "I… I don't know what to do. I love you and I love Adam, and I know that you guys don't get along but I don't see why. You guys are both such great guys and I really think that if you guys could see what I see in both of you, the two of you could be really great friends."

"Haley…"

"We're having dinner at Karen's Café tonight, everyone's coming, and then we're just going to go over to the River Court. Please just…think about coming?"

Nathan shook his head and let out a sigh, he knew what his answer would be anyways. He could never say no to her. "Okay."

* * *

><p>Haley smiled as she pushed the door open to Karen's Café and took a step inside. The sound of the bell clanging above her head, the smell of freshly brewed coffee and warm apple pie; this was her childhood. Haley had spent more time here than she had at her own home. She looked around at the people milling about, sipping their drinks and reading the paper or talking to their friends, and she felt like she was a teenager again. She was almost tempted to pick up a tray and start serving the customers.<p>

"Hey girly," Haley looked up to see Peyton smiling at her as she stepped out from behind the counter. "I know you're tutor girl and everything but we're not supposed to be meeting here for another four hours."

Haley smiled. "I know, just…reminiscing. What are you doing here?"

"Something came up at Tric so I'm watching this place while Karen sorts it out."

"Oh," Haley gave a puzzled look, "It's just weird to have you here and her there. It's usually the other way around."

"Yeah, but this is contract stuff and I help out with the music side so my name's not on the contract; but I told Karen I'd watch the Café for a little bit while she goes out to deal with it." Peyton gave a wry smile. "But not before she cooked enough food to feed an army."

Haley laughed. "That's Karen for you, 'you can never be too prepared.'" She mocked.

"So _that's_ where you get it from," Peyton teased.

Haley gave her a playful glare and reached out to smack her, which Peyton easily dodged. Her phone vibrated in her pocket a few seconds later and Haley watched as she pulled it out and read it before giggling to herself.

"Peyton Sawyer, giggling? I never thought I'd see the day."

Peyton barely glanced from her phone to give Haley the evil eye, her smile still firm on her face as her phone vibrated once more. Haley reached over and grabbed the phone out of Peyton's grasp before reading aloud, _I know you've only been gone a few hours but I miss you. It feels like it's been an eternity. Please come home soon, I can't wait to look into those green eyes of yours, kiss those perfect lips and… _

"Okay, ew!" Haley threw the phone down on a nearby table as she read the next part of the message.

"What?" Peyton shrugged innocently. "We're engaged!"

Haley shuddered. "Well I guess it's safe to say you two have been living in sin."

Peyton kinked her eyebrow at that. "Oh we'd been living in sin _long_ before that."

"Okay, okay, enough! I've heard enough!" Haley put her hands over her ears. "I'm going now."

"Wait!" Peyton called as Haley backed towards the door. "Before you do," Peyton took a few steps forward, lowering her voice, "it's about last week, and…and Nathan."

Haley looked at her, confused, "…okay."

"That song that he dedicated to you, you do know what that meant right?"

"It's stupid," Haley sighed, "but it's just…well I loved that song when I was younger and I was all blissed out on the idea of true love and all that. I told Nathan about it in our freshman year and I guess he just…he remembered."

"Haley…" Peyton's voice was urgent, "you know that's not all it was."

"Yes it was," Haley looked up at Peyton. "Peyton, we're just friends. I know that you guys always joke about the two of us getting together but come on…I'm engaged, and Adam's starting to get worried, and it's just, I think it's time everyone just stopped pretending."

"It's not us that's pretending Haley. I mean _come on_, you can't keep pretending that you don't see it. For that year, when I was away from Lucas… it killed me. There was never a time when he wasn't on my mind. Sure, it was easy to go out with other guys because I never felt anything for them and that meant that they couldn't hurt me. Haley, I get that you're scared, the last time you were in love you got your heart broken; but you can't keep hiding, what I now have with Lucas, and what you could have with Nathan…it's worth the risk of getting your heart broken. When Lucas and I broke up, it was one of the most painful years of my life, but not once during that year did I wish that I had never met him, that I had never given him my heart." Peyton looked up to see the tears glistening there in her friend's eyes. "Haley I know what you're feeling but true love… it exists and it's worth it, please… don't give up on it."

* * *

><p>Haley smoothed her white shirt and buttoned her baby blue cardigan before running her hand down her jeans and taking another look at herself in the mirror. She'd gotten back from Karen's about an hour ago and had quickly gone for a shower and changed into some fresh clothes. She'd needed the time to think about what Peyton had said. Why was it that everyone kept on telling her that she shouldn't marry Adam? They all seemed to like him, but it seemed like they all wanted her to end up with Nathan. Why though? She couldn't understand it, there was nothing to indicate they should be together, she knew that Nathan didn't see her like that. He had been a god in college and had been able to get any girl he wanted, he'd been known for being bold and flirtatious, if he'd wanted her he would have said something. The closest they'd ever come to a relationship was that kiss in freshman year, the emotions she had felt when he'd kissed her… she'd never felt anything like that before, and it had scared her more than anything else in the world and she'd done the only thing she could think of, she ran. It hadn't mattered of course, because the next day he had come and told her that it had been a mistake and that he hadn't meant it, he had just gotten caught up in the moment. She had been surprised by the pain that had caused her, he hadn't even said anything mean or hurtful, but just the idea of her loving him and him not feeling the same way… it had been like Felix all over again only somehow…worse. It was during the weeks that followed the event that she had first started to feel that nothing could come of her and Nathan, he would never see her that way, he was the king of Duke and she was dorky Tutorgirl, and the pain that it would cause if she were to fall for him, she didn't know if she could bear that. And sure, in the years that came to follow she started to believe again, that maybe something could come of the two of them, she closed her eyes in pain as she thought of one year in particular…no, nothing could ever come of them. Adam was better, Adam was safer.<p>

"Haley! Are you ready?"

"Coming!" Haley called as she stepped out of her room to see Adam texting on his Blackberry. "Really Adam?"

"Sorry, it's work," Adam muttered.

"Do you…can you still come? Or do you have to go in for something?"

Adam hesitated for a moment. Haley had told him about her talk with Nathan, and about how she wanted to two of them to be friends, he knew how much this meant to her. "I…" He looked up and her and then back down at his phone. "You know what? Work can do without me for one night, besides, I promised my fiancée I'd go."

Haley beamed at that. "Thank you!" She walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I love you, you know that?"

Adam gave her a wry smile in return. "I think so," but before Haley could open her mouth to ask him what he meant he had grabbed her hand and was heading for the door. "Let's go, we don't want to keep your friends waiting."

* * *

><p>"She finally returns." Peyton mocked as Haley walked through the door and made her way towards their table.<p>

"Fifteen minutes late? You're turning into the new me," Brooke teased.

"Just as long as she's not the _old_ you," Peyton countered with a smirk as she dodged a blow from Brooke.

"Now girls, play nice," Julian laughed.

"I don't mind," Lucas smirked and was rewarded with a smack on the arm by Peyton. "Now that," he muttered, rubbing his arm, "I mind."

"Uh huh," Peyton nodded with a laugh, "I thought you might."

Lucas reached out for Peyton only to be stopped by Nathan, who was sitting on his other side. "Please don't, some of us actually plan on eating on this table."

"Speaking of eating," Karen smiled as she came up behind them, "what can I get you guys?"

"Some ice, for the two of them." Nathan smirked as he looked at Lucas and Peyton who were making eyes at each other.

"Ew," Lucas turned to give Nathan a dry look. "You realise you're talking to my mom right?"

"I'll have a double cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate milkshake," Brooke cut in.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"What?" She asked. "I'm hungry, and tired of listening to all this bickering. Bring me some food Mama Scott."

Karen laughed. "Anyone else's orders?"

The group ordered their meals and Karen took them down before turning to leave. "Oh, and Peyton? I got the new stack of fliers, great work by the way, maybe I can give you half and you can help me put them up later on?"

"Ohh! Their in! I want to see!" Peyton pushed her chair out and headed over to the bar with Karen where she grabbed a stack of colourful looking papers before heading back over to the table.

"Woah, those are good." Lucas commented as she reached over to place them in her bag.

"Let me see," Brooke said as she reached over the table to grab one from the stack. "Ooooh! An open mic night at Tric! We are _so_ going!"

Nathan's eyes immediately shot to Haley.

"No," Haley shook her head.

"Oh come on!" Nathan whined.

She laughed at his antics. "How old are you?"

Nathan smiled smugly. "Four."

"Seems like it…" Adam muttered.

Nathan shot him a look before turning back to look hopefully at Haley. "So you'll sing?"

"Actually," Haley thought about it. "There is this new song I've been working on…"

"Yay!" Brooke squealed. "Our rock star is back!"

* * *

><p><strong>There you go, there's a little bit of a hint to why Haley is the way she is and a little bit of her perspective on her and Nathan's relationship. The rest will come soon!<strong>

**Coming up next:  
>- Haley's performance reveals a little more than expected<br>- Chris Kellar makes another appearance! **

**Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this up, I changed some things in the story so I'm just re-writing some of the chapters to make it all fit. I know that this chapter is short but the next one should be really long. Again, I love to hear your thoughts and get your feedback, it always motivates me to write my chapters, so thanks to everyone who reviewed! Enjoy!**

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><p><em>February 13<em>_th__ 2011_

Haley smoothed her hand over her black halter top as she stepped out of the car. She looked down at her dark blue skinny jeans and black heels and wondered if she was dressed appropriately. It felt like so long since she had been up on stage even though she knew it had only been a week since she sang with Chris.

"Peyton just texted me." Lucas stated as he pulled up beside them, Brooke and Julian taking the spot beside him and getting out of their car as well. "She's wondering where we are."

"Well if someone hadn't taken so long to get ready…" Julian started but quickly broke off when he saw the look he was receiving from Brooke. "I mean...nothing. Let's just go inside."

As the seven of them walked into the club a few eyes turned to look at Haley.

"Looks like they remember your performance," Peyton smirked.

Haley just blushed before turned look back down at her phone, replying to the text she had just received.

"Ohh, who are you texting Tutorgirl?" Brooke asked coyly peeking at her phone. "Loverboy number two?" She failed to notice that both Adam and Nathan winced beside her. "Ew!" She squealed as she looked at the phone. "Chris?"

Haley nodded. "I told him I'd meet him here after my performance so the two of us could catch up."

"When are you on?" Adam asked as he looked over at her.

Haley checked her phone. "In ten minutes." She gulped nervously.

"Hey," Nathan put his hands on her shoulders. "Do you remember what I told you the first time you performed?"

Haley looked into his eyes and everything else seemed to blur a little bit as she nodded.

Nathan repeated it anyways. "Pretend it's just you and me and we're just sitting there in Karen's Café. You can do this. Just look at me while you're up there, it's just the two of us."

Haley smiled and pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you."

"And up next," The group turned as they heard Peyton's voice coming from the stage. "We've got a very talented singer and a close personal friend of mine. Haley James!"

The crowd bust into applause as Haley made her way onto the stage.

"Good luck girly!" Peyton gave her a smile and a pat on the shoulder as she made her way offstage.

"Thanks." Haley walked up to the microphone set up at the front of the stage before laughing nervously. "Hey, I'm Haley James, some of you might remember me from last week…" She paused with another nervous laugh as a few members from the crowd broke out into applause once again. "So this is a song that I wrote recently. Well, actually I've been working on it for the past three years, but I finally finished it, so…here goes."

Haley smiled as the music started up, searching the crowd and sighing in relief when her eyes met with a pair of piercing ocean blue ones.

_I love you more than I should  
><em>_So much more than is good for me  
><em>_More than is good_

_Oh, the timing is cruel  
><em>_Oh I need and don't want to need  
><em>_More than I should_

_I am falling, say my name  
><em>_And I'll lie in the sound  
><em>_What is love? But whatever  
><em>_My heart needs around_

Peyton looked up at Nathan.

"What?"

"Come on Nathan. This song is about you!"

Nathan sighed. "Peyton, do you know how many times she's told me that we're best friends? How many times I've tried to show her how I feel about her and she's just…pretended it wasn't there? It's pretty obvious how I feel about her, if she felt the same way, she would say something."

Peyton's next words were soft, but unmistakable. "Sometimes people write the things they can't say…"

_Oh my sheet is so thin  
><em>_So I say I can't sleep because  
><em>_It's so very cold_

_Oh, but I know what I need  
><em>_And if you were just near to me  
><em>_Would you go?_

_I am falling, say my name  
><em>_And I'll lie in the sound  
><em>_What is love, but whatever  
><em>_My heart needs around_

_I am falling, say my name  
><em>_And I'll lie in the sound  
><em>_What is love, but whatever  
><em>_My heart needs around_

_And it needs you, too much, now…_

The crowd broke out into applause as Haley bowed shyly before making her way off of the stage. She was sure that no matter how many times she performed she would never get used to the attention.

"Well well, look at little miss Haley James, all grown up."

Haley smiled as she saw Chris leaning against the doorway to the dressing room. She laughed and swatted him playfully as he stepped out of the way and followed her inside. "How are you, Chris?"

"I'm good. Just here to do some recording, then hopefully back for another tour. What about you? Heard you're engaged."

Haley turned to look at him confused.

"Nathan." He explained and she nodded.

"I must say, I'm surprised he's not the one you're marrying. If I remember correctly the two of you had quite a thing for each other back in college. I remember how threatened he was when I came in with my good looks and charm and offered you a spot on my tour…"

Haley rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up! And for the record, it wasn't _your_ tour."

Chris just shrugged. "May as well have been."

Haley chose to ignore his comment. "And by the way, Nathan and I were just friends in college."

Chris shook his head as he walked towards her. "You and Nathan were never just friends and you know it. Your song only goes to prove that."

Haley's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh come on!" Chris threw his hands up. "You can't honestly tell me that that song wasn't about Nathan."

Haley looked at him adamantly. "You can't say things like that! I'm engaged, and I love my fiancé very much."

"I'll bet you it's not as much as you love Nathan." Chris had a smug smirk on his face, he loved getting her riled up. He took a challenging step towards her so that they were a foot apart. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love Nathan."

Haley looked down at the ground before looking back up at him with a pointed look. "We're. Just. Friends." She enunciated each word.

"Hey," a short man with a headset on came into the room. "Keller, you're up next, you ready?"

"Yeah, I'll be out in a few." Chris nodded as the man closed the door before turning back to Haley. His face softened. "I've missed you Haley James."

"I've missed you too." Haley smiled back at him.

"These next few weeks are going to be pretty busy and I'm not really sure if I'm going to see you again before I leave so you better keep in touch." He tried to look threatening but his smile gave him away.

"I will." She smiled as he headed towards the door. "The phone works two ways you know."

He smiled. "I know." He was about halfway through the door when he turned back. "Oh, and Haley?"

She looked up at him.

"You never denied it."

She gave him a puzzled look.

"When I asked you if you loved Nathan. You never denied it."

And then he was gone.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave me your thoughts!<strong>

**Coming Up Next:  
><strong>- **Adam gets a glimpse of the _real_ Haley  
>- Haley is forced to choose: Adam or Nathan <strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: Sorry this update took a little while, it's exam time and things have been crazy. This was one of my favourite chapters to write so I really hope you enjoy it and, as always, please leave me your thoughts!**

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><p><em>February 20<em>_th__ 2010_

"So what is this we're going for?" Adam asked Haley as the seven of them made their way out of Karen's Café.

"This is our Saturday tradition," Haley smiled. "Dinner at Karen's and then we head to the River Court."

"Wait, you guys do this every Saturday?"

Haley nodded.

"How come I've never heard about it?" He looked down at her.

Lucas shot her a look, which she ignored. "I don't know, I guess I never mentioned it. But that's why I'm bringing you today. I feel like I live two separate lives sometimes, one with you and one with my friends. We're going to be married soon." Nathan cringed and Peyton rested a hand comfortingly on his arm. "I want you to know all of me."

Adam looked at her for a moment before giving her a grateful smile and turning to the rest of the group. "So what do you guys do at the River Court?"

Lucas just smiled smugly. "You'll see."

Adam saw his car and made his way towards it but was surprised when the other six didn't follow.

"We usually walk," Lucas explained as he noticed where Adam was headed.

"Really? Why would you walk when you've already got a car here?"

"It's a beautiful day," Peyton shot him a look, "why would we all split up to drive there when we can walk together and talk?"

Adam just shrugged as he turned away from his car and followed the group towards the River Court. "So don't you guys ever get sick of eating at Karen's?"

He noticed the looks on the faces around him and quickly recovered, "I mean, it's a great place, and the food is amazing, but you guys have been eating there for years, don't you ever want to try something different? Something new?"

"It's called a tradition for a reason," Peyton remarked, quickly followed by Lucas nudging her arm as he whispered, "Peyton, be nice."

Peyton shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"Oh, will you look at that," Brooke emphasized, trying to break the awkward tension, "we're at the River Court."

"Girls versus guys!" Haley screamed as she ran for the bush, closely followed by Lucas and Julian. Adam watched as she reached inside and pulled out a basketball victoriously before Lucas and Julian tackled her to the ground.

Brooke noticed the expression on Adam's face and tried to explain. "Tip offs don't work so well with girls versus guys, so first one to the ball gets to start."

Adam shook his head slightly as he watched. "Aren't we a little old for this kind of thing?"

Peyton just glared at him. "No one said you had to participate."

"No…I'll…I'll play. I'm sorry, this is just kind of…I've never seen Haley like this before, it's kind of strange."

"We do this every week," Nathan pointed out. "Maybe if you weren't so busy with work…"

Adam turned to shoot him a glare.

"I'm just saying man." Nathan put his hands up as he took a step back.

"Girls start!" Haley shouted as she came bouncing up to them. She had twigs in her hair and her clothes were covered in grass stains but the smile on her face was victorious. Nathan couldn't help but chuckle at how cute she looked.

"Baby! You're clothes!" Adam looked her up and down.

"It's fine," Haley shrugged. "It was worth it to beat these two losers." She smirked as Lucas and Julian came up behind her.

"I resent that," Lucas remarked.

"Me too," Julian agreed.

"You're going to take that back when we beat you," Lucas smirked.

"_If_ you beat us," Brooke pointed out with a grin.

"We'll see," Lucas turned towards the table at the other end of the court and Nathan and Julian quickly followed. Adam watched as the three of them pulled their shirts over their heads and dumped them onto the picnic table before turning to him. "You coming?"

"Umm…sure," Adam walked over to them and loosened his tie before unbuttoning his dress shirt and adding it to their pile of t-shirts. He was left with just his white undershirt as he turned to the rest of the guys. They looked at him for a few seconds before Nathan headed onto the court, "Suit yourself."

"It gets pretty hot out there," Brooke called to him, "besides, you'll want all the advantage you can get, we don't play fair."

"What?" Adam asked.

"Umm…" Haley blushed.

"Us girls are known for our distractions," Peyton explained. "You know," She reached over and pulled up Brooke's shirt, "…_distractions._"

"Peyton!" Brooke screeched.

"It's not like we haven't all seen it before," Peyton smirked. "Besides, do you really think the rest of us didn't see anything when you flashed Julian to win last week?"

Adam's eyes shot to Haley. "You…do you…?"

"Haley?" Brooke laughed, "no, Haley's never flashed anyone. She can be pretty persuasive when she wants to be though."

Adam looked at her warily. "What do you mean?"

"You'll just have to find out." Brooke cut in with a smirk.

Adam looked hesitantly at all of them before taking off his undershirt and joining the rest of the guys on the court.

Peyton snickered quietly from where she stood with the rest of the girls at the other end of the River Court.

"What?" Haley asked as she looked over at her.

"Come on Haley, _that _guy over Nathan?"

Haley looked up and noticed what she was talking about. The guys were all standing in a group making up some sort of strategy but even then there was a discernible difference. Adam had always been fairly lean but next to Nathan he looked like a toothpick. Even though Nathan's six foot three was not much taller than the guys around him, the sheer mass of his frame had him towering over them. Lucas and Julian were not much smaller than him, build wise, but Adam…he looked like a child as he stood among the other three men. Haley couldn't help but notice Nathan's strong firm shoulders, his muscular arms, the way the muscles on his back rippled as he moved and his toned abs as he turned his body towards them. She also couldn't help but compare it to Adam's slight frame and notice how fragile Adam looked as he stood next to Nathan.

Peyton cleared her throat as she looked at Haley, a smirk on her face.

"It doesn't matter," Haley said as she turned away from the guys and back towards Peyton. "Adam's a lawyer and Nathan's an ex-NBA player, of course Nathan's going to be more built."

"What are you girls whispering about over there?" Julian called.

The girls looked up to see the boys had broken out of their huddle and were watching them curiously.

"Just making our own game plan," Brooke smirked.

"Oh please," Lucas scoffed. "Your game plan consists of taking your shirts off and shooting while we're distracted."

"You better watch yourself Scott," Peyton warned playfully, "or you'll be sleeping on the couch tonight."

"Are we gonna play or what?" Nathan asked as he stepped around Lucas and took the ball from his hands as the guys settled themselves into formation.

Brooke walked up in front of him before clearing her throat. "We get first ball, don't think I've forgotten Scott."

"How are we playing this?" Haley looked around. There were too many guys and not enough girls. "We need a guy to join the girl's team."

"I'll join!" Adam volunteered eagerly. Just being around those guys was intimidating, he didn't even want to imagine what they'd say when they saw how badly he played.

"Alright," Brooke took the ball before turning to the girls. "I'm covering Julian, obviously. Peyton you want Lucas?"

"Is that even a question?" Peyton asked as she looked over at her half naked fiancé.

"Alright well Haley usually takes Nathan but there are two of you now…"

"One of you could take Nathan and the other could stay open by the basket."

"P. Sawyer," Brooke gasped, "are you suggesting we cherry pick?"

Peyton shrugged with a smirk. "Well it's not like you're above cheating miss rip-my-shirt-off."

Brooke stuck her tongue out at her best friend before turning back to the couple in front of her. "Okay, so who wants to take Nathan?"

"I will," Adam suggested. He may be trying to play nice with the guy but that didn't mean he was going to let him anywhere near his fiancée.

Brooke looked between the two of them for a second before conceding. "Fine. Adam takes Nathan; Haley, you get open near the net. Okay boys," she announced as she turned around, "we're ready to beat your asses."

Lucas chuckled at that. "Whatever you say Brooke."

* * *

><p>"I'm open!" Adam yelled as he ran towards the guys' basket. "Pass it Brooke!"<p>

Brooke hesitated for a moment before throwing the ball into the air towards Adam. Her fears were confirmed when he caught it, fumbled it, and chased it off into the bushes. The other guys snickered.

"Don't be jerks," Brooke hissed, "I remember when _you_ were that bad." She pointed a finger towards Julian.

"I was never that bad," Julian whispered back.

"Well you certainly weren't _good_," Lucas mumbled with a snicker.

"What are you guys whispering about over there?" Haley called from the other side of the court.

"Nothing!" They all chimed simultaneously.

"Yeah," Haley laughed, "I'm sure."

"I'm done," Adam panted as he made his way back onto the court. "That's enough exercise for me for one day."

"But we've only been playing for half an hour," Nathan objected.

"You guys continue," Adam motioned as he headed towards the bench, "I'll watch from here."

"Are you sure?" Haley gave him a concerned look. "Do you want me to join you? I can-"

"No!" Brooke exclaimed. "Tutorgirl we need you! We're already losing!"

"You play," Adam smiled at her before smirking. "Besides, I've got a great view from here anyways."

"Perv," Peyton muttered under her breath.

"Peyton," Haley warned, "be nice."

"Alright, well it looks like Haley's covering Nathan." Brooke turned towards them. "You girls ready?"

Haley turned towards Nathan. "Bring it on Natey."

"Oh it's _so_ on," Nathan smirked as he bent to a crouch.

"You ready Eugene?" Peyton laughed as she turned towards her fiancé.

"Seriously? You're going to middle name me? I didn't even do anything!"

Peyton just laughed.

"Dude! You're middle name is Eugene?"

Lucas turned to give Julian a dirty look before turning back to the girls. "Are we just gonna sit around here and talk or are we gonna play?"

"No need to get your panties in a bunch Eugene," Nathan smirked.

"What is this?" Lucas grumbled, "pick-on-Lucas day?"

Haley lit up. "We should totally have one of those!"

"I'm _so_ in!" Brooke agreed.

Peyton laughed. "For me, every day is pick-on-Lucas-day."

"Don't I know it…" Lucas muttered.

"We get first ball," Haley declared.

"But Adam hit it out, it's our ball," Nathan argued.

"But we just lost a player," Haley countered.

"But…"

Haley took a step forward so her chest was pressed right up against Nathan's. "Yes…?"

Nathan's eyes darkened. "Whatever you want."

Brooke snickered before turning to Peyton. "See, I knew once Haley was covering Nathan again we'd win."

"We haven't won yet Brooke," Peyton pointed out with a smile.

"Just wait," Brooke smiled smugly, "you'll see."

* * *

><p>"So, what should our victory prize be?"<p>

"I vote the boys buy us ice cream, I'm boiling!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Oh alright…" Lucas conceded as he wrapped an arm around his fiancée.

"Double scoop for me!" Haley exclaimed.

"You know, these victory prizes are going to burn a hole through my wallet," Nathan exclaimed.

"Well maybe if you guys stepped up your game you wouldn't lose so often," Haley smiled smugly.

"Maybe if you _girls_ stopped being such a distraction…" Lucas quipped.

"This is street ball baby," Peyton kissed him on the cheek, "there are no rules. Go big or go home."

The group continued to laugh as they made their way towards the Marketstreet docks.

"You okay?" Haley asked after a few minutes when she noticed Adam had been particularly quiet.

"Yeah, I'm…I'm fine."

Haley held onto his hand for a moment and let the others walk ahead before turning to him. "No, you're not. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing it's just…"

"It's just what?"

"Seeing you and Nathan today…"

"Oh…" Haley thought back to the game. "Adam I'm sorry, it's really not like that. It's just…Peyton and Lucas have always been a couple and even before Julian, Brooke always seemed to have someone in her life, and Nathan and I have been such good friends. It's just kind of ingrained in us to play that way. I'm really sorry if it made you uncomfortable. Trust me, it doesn't mean anything."

"I'm sure if you asked Nathan he'd give you a different story," Adam retorted.

"Adam, I don't know what to say or do to show it to you, but Nathan just sees me as a friend. Trust me, he could never see me as anything more than that."

"Is that what you tell yourself to justify being with me?" Adam asked bitterly.

"Adam, I love you."

"But you love Nathan too."

"He's my best friend, of course I love him."

Adam sighed. "Haley, you know what I mean."

"No Adam, I don't think I do. You've known Nathan for a while now, why is this all coming up now?"

"Because I was too blind to see it before. I didn't _want_ to see it before but now I can't avoid it anymore."

"Well, I don't know what else I can say or do to convince you..."

"Don't see him anymore," Adam cut in.

"Excuse me?" Haley was taken aback.

"Don't see him anymore. Please, for me?"

"Adam you know I can't do that, he's my best friend."

"Just, please, think about it. It'll be better for him too. Maybe it'll help him to get over you."

"Adam he's not into me!"

"Just, think about it, okay?"

"I…"

"We should catch up, everyone's ordering already," Adam said as he looked up ahead. "Come on."

* * *

><p>"He asked you to do what?"<p>

"He doesn't want me to see Nathan anymore."

"Did he at least say why?

"He said that Nathan was in love with me," Haley scoffed, "I mean seriously? How crazy is that?"

Brooke and Peyton shared a look.

"Haley…" Brooke started. "Maybe… maybe you should talk to Nathan."

"You guys know I can't do that. Can you imagine what Nathan would say if I told him that Adam didn't want me to see him anymore? He already hates the guy; he would probably go over there and rip his head off."

"Are you…?" Peyton looked worried. "Are you going to do it?"

"Of course I'm not going to do it!" Haley exclaimed. "Nathan's my best friend and I am _not_ going to cut him out of my life! I just, I can't do that."

Brooke sighed. "Well it looks like Adam might be right, maybe you do have to choose…"

"So…" Peyton started as the two looked at Haley expectantly. "What'll it be?"

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><p><strong>Coming Up Next:<strong>

**- Haley's decision  
>- Who will Haley be taking to Peyton's wedding? <strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, I just moved back across the country as I got home from university, needless to say things have been hectic, but I'm home now so my updates should be more frequent. I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed, I loved to hear your feedback and your ideas. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!**

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><p><em>April 17<em>_st__ 2011_

"Can you believe it? One week and you're going to be Mrs. Lucas Scott."

Peyton's grin stretched across her face. "I know. I can't wait."

"It's about time if you ask me," Haley muttered.

Peyton turned to give her a curious look.

"Come on! Lucas has been in love with you since the eighth grade and all I've been hearing since then is how one day he's going to marry Peyton Sawyer. So in my books this day is long overdue."

"Oh shut up and help me wrap," Peyton muttered as she turned back to her gift bag and tried to hide her bright red cheeks.

"So…who's bringing who to this wedding?" Brooke asked innocently, shooting a look towards Haley.

"Adam's coming in for the wedding," Haley gave Brooke a pointed look.

"That's what he says now…" Peyton commented.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Haley asked with a slight edge in her voice.

"It means that Adam's been ditching out an awful lot lately," Peyton stated bluntly.

"Things have just been…busy."

"So this has nothing to do with the fact that you said you wouldn't stop seeing Nathan?"

Haley hesitated.

"He can't just expect you to cut your best friend out of your life!" Brooke exclaimed.

"Not that it would matter," Haley muttered. "Ever since Nathan found out he's been avoiding me too."

"How did that talk go anyways?"

"_Hales, what are you doing here?"_

"_We need to talk. Can I come inside?"_

_Nathan stepped out of the way and followed Haley into the living room. "Can I get you anything to eat or…"_

_Haley took a deep breath. "Adam doesn't want me to see you anymore."_

"_Drink or…oh… so is this…did you come here to…?"_

"_No! I'm telling him no! I can't cut you out of my life Nathan! You're my best friend!"_

_Nathan looked at her with sad eyes. "I can't imagine my life without you either Hales, but if this is what he wants…"_

"_Look, I don't want to rock the boat or anything, but I'm not cutting you out of my life Nathan. That's just something I can't do."_

_Nathan sighed a breath of relief. "Good, because I don't think I could handle that." He took in her worried expression. "So what does this mean for you?"_

"_I don't know, I'll have to go and talk to Adam. I just, I don't know, I told Brooke and Peyton and they told me I should come talk to you about it."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah, they kept saying you have the right to know."_

"_The right to know?" Nathan repeated._

"_Yeah, it's stupid, and awkward, and embarrassing…"_

"_Haley, what is it?" Nathan pressed._

"_Well, the reason Adam doesn't want us hanging out anymore is because…"_

"_Haley…"_

"_It's because he thinks you're in love with me." Haley rushed out before taking in his shocked expression. "I know, it's crazy right? I told him we're just friends and that there's nothing more. I tried to tell him that nothing could ever happen between us but he just wouldn't listen. I don't know why this is coming up now but it's like all of a sudden he can't stop talking about how one day I'm going to realise he's right and leave him. I mean, he's known you for years, so where is this coming from?" Haley drifted off in thought for a moment before noticing the expression on Nathan's face. It was the same one from that night at the bar, the night he got drunk and told her he hated her. "Nathan? Are you okay?"_

_Haley took a step towards him but he took a step back._

"_I'm fine."_

"_Nathan…"_

"_I said I'm fine Haley!" Nathan repeated more forcefully._

_Haley looked doubtful._

"_You should go. Adam's probably waiting for you."_

"_I'm not leaving you Nathan," Haley said softly, "you're clearly upset about something."_

"_Haley please…just go…"_

_She looked in to his eyes; it had been so long since he had called her Haley. He was distancing himself from her; she could feel it, but why? "If that's what you really want then that's what I'll do, but Nathan, please just know that I'm here okay? Whatever you need I'm here for you. So if you ever do feel ready to talk about it just call and I'll be here as fast as I can. I'm not going anywhere."_

"Is that the last time the two of you have spoken?" Brooke asked.

"In person? Yeah."

"Have you tried calling him?" Peyton cut in.

"Yeah, but he usually doesn't pick up, and if he does he makes up some excuse after less than five minutes and hangs up. I just… I don't know what to do…"

"What about Adam?"

"It's been the same with him. I went home and told him after I went to visit Nathan. He was upset but he said he would respect my decision. We've barely spoken since."

"And yet you seem more upset about Nathan," Peyton commented knowingly.

"I'm going to go call _Adam_," Haley emphasized before standing up and pulling her cell phone out of her purse.

"Wait, are you leaving me to wrap these giftbags all by myself?" Brooke whined.

"Excuse me!" Peyton exclaimed. "I've been wrapping these with you for the past three hours!"

"But you're doing it all wrong," Brooke whined, "and then I just have to go back and re-do it anyways."

"It's _my_ wedding!" Peyton exclaimed.

"Well maybe if you had better taste…"

Haley laughed as she headed out onto Peyton's back porch and closed the door behind her.

She walked over to the edge of the porch and leaned against the banister. When had things gotten so complicated? She missed being young; back when everything seemed so simple. She missed believing in fairy tales and happily-ever-afters and true love. What had happened to her? When had she become so cynical?

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. She knew who she wanted to call, who she wanted to talk to, and it made her miss her youth even more. Back when they were in college she and Nathan had been inseparable. They had always been open with each other and told each other everything. She didn't know what had happened, now it seemed like they were always fighting or avoiding each other. It was like he didn't trust her anymore, like he couldn't be himself around her anymore. She had seen him put those walls up before, but she had never been on the other side of them. She hated it.

Her phone beeped and she jumped. She had a text message from Adam. She flipped her phone open before scrolling through her menu and opening up the text. _We need to talk_. Haley sighed before pressing call. It rang for a few minutes before she heard Adam's voice on the other end.

"That was fast."

"I was just about to call you."

"Oh, what about?"

Haley paused for a few seconds before letting out a breath. "I was just thinking…you and I… I think we need to talk, maybe spend some time together, just the two of us. I feel like we're drifting apart and I know that you're upset about the whole Nathan thing, and I understand that, but I was thinking that maybe this wedding would give us a chance to go through everything, and maybe afterwards we could go back home and just talk. I just…"

"Haley…"

Haley stopped at that tone. She knew that tone.

"I don't think I can make it to the wedding."

"Adam…"

Adam sighed. "I know, I promised, but something's come up at work. This client is a really big deal. It could make or break my career. You know how these things are."

Haley's voice was strained. "No, I don't think I do."

"Haley… don't be like that."

Haley sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just…Adam I really think we need this. We're not even married yet and already we're drifting apart. How are we supposed to build a marriage if we can't even hold onto our relationship?"

Adam was silent for a moment and Haley realised he was talking to someone in the background. "Haley, can we talk about this later? I really have to go."

"Adam…"

"Please Haley, I promise, we'll talk later."

"Fine," Haley muttered before hearing the ring of the dial tone in her ears. She took a deep breath before turning back towards the house. _It looks like Peyton was right._

* * *

><p>"He what? Haley you cannot go to this wedding alone!"<p>

"Sure I can. Brooke, it's not a big deal, tons of people go to weddings alone."

"You are a bridesmaid, you have to have a date!"

"Brooke…" Peyton warned. She knew where this was going.

"I've got it covered. Be right back." Brooke ran out of the room.

"Brooke, don't you dare!" Peyton called after her.

Haley looked from the doorway to Peyton and back again. "What's going on?"

"Nothing just…" Peyton jumped up before motioning to Haley with her hand. "Stay there for a minute okay?"

She heard Peyton run into the kitchen before hearing Brooke yell into the phone. "Gotta go, bye!"

"Brooke, you did not!"

"You worry too much, everything will be fine."

Then all she heard were hushed whispers for a few moments before the two girls re-entered the room. Brooke had a triumphant smile on her face but Peyton looked a little dubious.

"Tutorgirl, you officially have a wedding date."

Haley looked at Brooke shocked for a moment. "Brooke, you did not."

"What?" Brooke asked.

"Brooke do you remember what happened last time you set me up? I told you, I am never letting you set me up on one of your blind dates again."

"Oh but you already know this guy," Brooke smiled.

"But…who-?"

"Nathan." Peyton deadpanned.

"But Nathan and I are just friends-"

"Cut the crap tutorgirl," Brooke rolled her eyes. "We all know you and Nathan have never been just friends. It seems like everyone's figured it out but you. So go with him, have a good time, and make sure to bring condoms."

"Brooke!" Haley shrieked.

"What?" Brooke shrugged innocently. "I hear he's good in bed."

Haley turned to look at Peyton with wide-eyes. "She didn't hear it from me! Although…" Peyton nodded in affirmation as she shrugged her shouldlers.

"Ew!" Haley covered her ears. "TMI!" She shuddered before standing up and making her way towards the front door. "If you two will excuse me, I'm going to go for a walk to try and get a certain image out of my mind."

Brooke just laughed before calling after her. "You can't be so innocent forever! One day you'll have to do the dirty and you'll be just as bad as the rest of us!"

"Do the dirty?" Peyton laughed. "Seriously Brooke, where do you come up with this stuff?"

* * *

><p>"So…" Lucas looked over at Nathan.<p>

"Peyton told you." Nathan deadpanned.

Lucas chuckled. "Maybe."

"I knew one of them would cave, honestly though, I expected it to be Brooke."

Lucas shrugged. "Peyton and I tell each other everything, and I'm sure Julian knows too."

Nathan slumped in his seat. "Great."

"I think the real question is, why didn't you tell us yourself? I thought you would be thrilled. You, Haley, a wedding date. Wasn't this exactly the kind of opportunity you were hoping for? You wanted to make her fall in love with you? Now's your chance. You're her date to her best friend's wedding and her fiancé is out of town. You're not going to get a better opportunity than this."

"I don't know…" Nathan thought about it for a few minutes before looking up at his brother. "And for the record, I'm her best friend."

"I've known her longer," Lucas pointed out.

"But I know her better," Nathan countered.

"Yeah, but you're in love with her."

"So?"

"So, that makes you her 'hopefully-soon-to-be-boyfriend'. I'll always be her best friend."

Nathan looked at him for a few minutes before chuckling. "'Hopefully-soon-to-be-boyfriend'? You're lame man."

"Whatever," Lucas shrugged. "I'm right."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before a sound of a key in the lock broke them from their dazes.

"Babe, I'm home!"

"In the kitchen!" Lucas called.

Peyton hobbled into the kitchen, buried behind a pile of shopping bags. She walked past the island and towards the table before dumping the pile and stretching out her arms.

"Did you buy the whole store?" Lucas asked as he spun around on his barstool and eyed the massive pile Peyton had haphazardly thrown onto the kitchen table.

Peyton sauntered over, kissing him on the cheek before taking a seat on the stool beside him. "Just some stuff for the wedding."

"Peyton the wedding's in a week. What more could we possibly need?"

Lucas pushed himself away from the island before making his way over to the table and peeking inside one of the bags. "Shoes?"

Peyton shrugged innocently. "…And for after the wedding."

Lucas leaned back on his heels and looked up at the ceiling. "You went shopping with Brooke didn't you?"

"Umm…" Peyton looked over at Lucas for a moment before turning swiftly to Nathan. "So what have you guys been up to?"

"Talking about my _wedding date_," Nathan gave her a pointed look.

Peyton looked between the two men. "I'm screwed either way aren't I?"

* * *

><p><strong>I know this chapter wasn't particularly eventful but it's all leading up to the next one. Please let me know what you think, good or bad I love to hear your thoughts, opinions and ideas!<strong>

**Coming Up Next:  
>- Lucas and Peyton's wedding and along with it...the wedding date<br>- A very drastic change in Nathan and Haley's relationship...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: I know that this story has been a little slow, and maybe a little frustrating; between Haley's obliviousness and her secret, but this is where things start to pick up. I just want to say thank you so much to those of you who have been reviewing, I have loved reading all your reviews! I know that One Tree Hill fanfictions aren't very big right now and there are few readers but it means a lot to me that you guys take the time to review each chapter and leave me your thoughts. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

><p><em>April 26<em>_th__ 2011_

Haley ran a hand over her dress before reaching up to fix her hair.

"Don't you dare Tutorgirl. I spent way too long fixing that to have you mess it up with your worrying. Trust me, you look gorgeous. Nathan won't know what hit him."

Haley sighed. "I'm not doing this for…"

"You can keep saying that all you want but I'm not buying it."

Haley opened her mouth to argue but upon seeing Brooke's expression decided to just let it go. There was no use. Brooke had her mind made up and once Brooke Davis made up her mind, there was no changing it. Instead she turned back to the mirror and looked herself over once again. Peyton had gone with peachy shades for her wedding and so all the bridesmaids were dressed in peachy pink strapless satin dresses that flowed downwards and ended at the knee. Haley wasn't a fan of pink but even she had to admit, the dresses were gorgeous. Brooke had put half of her hair up so that it pulled back away from her face and cascaded down her back in loose curls. She had done her make-up herself, adding some light blush and eye-shadow to compliment the dress.

"Haley it's going to be fine," Brooke came up behind her and put an hand on her shoulder.

"I know it is. I told you Brooke. I'm not worried about that okay? I just don't want things to be awkward. Nathan and I haven't talked in a while and things have been a bit tense between us since I told him about the whole Adam-not-wanting-us-to-see-each-other thing."

"Don't worry, I'm sure-" Brooke was cut short by a knock at the front door. "Looks like our dates are here! Come on," She grabbed Haley's hand, "let's go."

Haley reluctantly let herself be pulled to the front door and stood there nervously as Brooke opened it and stepped outside. She closed the door behind her and it was a few seconds before it re-opened. Haley was surprised to see not Brooke but Nathan walk in, hands in his pockets, nervously looking at the ground. "Brooke sent me in here," he mumbled sheepishly. "She said something about her and Julian needing some 'quality time'." He winced. "Look, I know we haven't talked in a while and I don't want–" Nathan looked up for the first time and stopped short at what he saw. "Wow…" He blew out a breath. "Haley you look…amazing."

"Thanks." Haley couldn't help the blush that covered her cheeks.

"What I was saying was…uhh…" Nathan continued to stare as he racked his brain.

"That we hadn't talked in a while." Haley filled in.

"Oh yeah…" Nathan stayed silent for a few more seconds, his eyes glued to Haley, before he shook his head and snapped himself out of his daze. "Right. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I've made things awkward between us these past few weeks and I understand if you're mad at me I just… I don't want things to be awkward tonight."

"Me neither," Haley smiled. "And I'm not mad at you."

"Okay," Nathan breathed out. "Good."

The door opened suddenly and Brooke peeked her head inside. "Are you two coming or what?"

Nathan nodded to Brooke before turning to Haley with a smile and offering her his arm. "Shall we?"

Haley giggled and smiled back. "We shall." And with that she looped her arm through his and they headed out the door.

* * *

><p>"The wedding was beautiful," Haley smiled as she looked around the reception hall. "And so is all of this. Nice work."<p>

Peyton laughed. "You should be thanking Brooke, she did most of the work. The damn girl wouldn't even let me plan my own wedding."

The two girls smiled as they looked at Brooke who was standing a few feet away, yelling at a waiter.

"Do you think we should go rescue him?" Haley asked.

"Nahh," Peyton shrugged. "I mean it's Brooke, what's the worst she could do?"

The two girls looked at each other for a second before Peyton nodded. "You know what, on second thought, let's go rescue him." She turned to Lucas and gave him a peck on the cheek before standing up, Haley in tow.

"Where are you two going?" Lucas asked.

Peyton and Haley both nodded towards the young waiter who now looked close to tears.

"Good idea." Lucas nodded. "I'll wait here."

Peyton looked at him for a moment before laughing. "Are you scared of her?"

Lucas looked towards Brooke apprehensively for a moment before turning back to meet his wife's gaze. "No….I just…this seat is pretty comfy and I _really_ don't want to get up."

Haley looked at him for a few moments before laughing. "Nice alibi."

"What are you guys laughing about?" Brooke asked as she came up behind them. Lucas jumped.

"Where'd the waiter go?" Peyton asked as she looked around.

Brooke shrugged. "He ran off crying somewhere. I mean, what kind of work ethic is that? First he drops that pastry and then he just goes running off…"

"Wait," Peyton stopped her. "You did _that_ to the boy because he _dropped a pastry_?"

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Lucas muttered.

"Who did Brooke kill this time?" Nathan asked with a smirk as he walked up to the group.

"No one," Brooke looked up innocently.

"Yet." Lucas muttered.

Haley laughed before turning to Nathan. "Well, we found out why Lucas and Brooke never worked out in high school."

"What? Because she can scare the shit out of Lucas?" Nathan asked. "Yeah, I knew that already. Lucas is a pansy."

"Hey!" Lucas exclaimed. "I am not a pansy! Geez," he muttered, "you'd think you'd be a little nicer to your big brother on his wedding day."

Nathan schooled his features. "What I meant is, congratulations."

"Thank you," Lucas smiled smugly.

Nathan turned to Haley before muttering. "On getting Peyton to marry his pansy ass."

Lucas shot Nathan a dirty look. "I can still hear you, you know."

Nathan just smiled smugly. "Good. It's about time someone told you."

"Let's go greet some guests!" Haley suggested with false enthusiasm.

"But it's not even our wedding," Nathan complained with a pout.

"Well Peyton's great aunt Myrtle said she wanted to talk to us later and we can't just leave her hanging. Come on."

Haley took his hand and led him into the crowd. All of Nathan's complaints died on his lips at the feel of her small soft hand encased in his larger one. It was amazing what a simple touch from her could do to him.

"Why sweetie, there you are! I was wondering where you had run off to!" A short thin lady with white curly hair and a sweet little smile pulled Haley into a hug. After she had pulled away she turned to Nathan with a smile. "And who might this handsome young man be?"

Haley smiled as she looked beside her. "This is Nathan. Nathan, this is Peyton's Great Aunt Myrtle."

Myrtle glanced between the two of them. "Ohhh, you two make such a cute couple!" She clapped her hands together but abruptly stopped as her eyes fixated on Haley's ring finger. "And when is _this_ wedding taking place?"

"Oh we're not…we're not together," Haley corrected. "We're just friends."

"That engagement ring on your finger says otherwise," Myrtle smiled.

"Oh, I am engaged, but not to Nathan. My fiancé couldn't make it today and so Nathan agreed to be my date for the evening."

Haley's phone buzzed in her clutch and she pulled it out, looking at the caller I.D. "Oh, and that's him right now. I'd better take this, excuse me for a second." Haley stepped away from the two of them as she answered her phone and Myrtle took the opportunity to give Nathan a quick pat on the shoulder and a small smile before turning away. "Don't worry honey, she'll come around."

* * *

><p>"Hey Hales, I can't talk for long, I'm about to go into another meeting. I just wanted to check in and see how the wedding's going. I'm really sorry I couldn't be there."<p>

"It's fine," Haley smiled. She felt horrible about it, but as much as she had wished Adam was able to come, it was kind of nice hanging out just the six of them. She was different around Adam than she was around the rest of her friends. She was more serious when she was with him and sometimes when they all hung out together, she felt awkward being herself, she felt as though Adam disapproved of the immature moments she often had with her friends.

"Brooke told me you and Nathan went together?" Haley could hear the strain in his voice. He was trying to be okay with this.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you myself and talk to you about it, see if you were okay with it, but Brooke felt that she would be more…persuasive," she laughed, "if you could call it that."

Adam chuckled. It was forced. "Oh trust me, she was. She was right though, in the things she said. I wasn't there and I didn't give you much time to find someone to go with. And apparently everyone in the wedding party _has_ to have a date."

"You know Brooke," she tried to laugh it off, "she gets crazy when she plans these things, everything has to match her plan down to a tee."

"No, I don't really…know Brooke," Adam commented.

Haley paused. "I guess you don't."

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned her head to see Nathan standing behind her. _You okay?_ He mouthed as he gave her a concerned look.

Haley nodded and gave him a smile in return. He always knew how to make her feel better.

"Well I have to go," Adam spoke up from the other line, "I'm already late for my meeting but I'll see you when I get back okay?"

"Okay," Haley spoke softly into the receiver. "I'll see you–" But he had already hung up. Haley sighed as she closed her phone and placed it back into her clutch.

"Everything okay?" Nathan asked as his hand moved off her shoulder and down to rub her back.

"Yeah," she looked up and gave him a soft smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." He looked into her eyes for a few moments before his own darkened. His hand slowed its movements on her back as he turned her so that they were facing each other. He stood there like that for a few moments before he slowly started to move in…

"Well well, Haley James and Nathan Scott together. There's a sight I never thought I'd see."

Nathan spun around and came face to face with none other than Whitey Durham. "Whitey," he smiled as he tried to hide is disappointment at the interruption.

"Now that's Coach Durham to you," Whitey said sternly, although his smile gave him away.

"Whitey, it's so good to see you," Haley smiled as she reached up and hugged the retired basket-ball coach. "How have you been?"

"I've been good. How about you the two of you?"

"We're good," Haley nodded.

"I must say," Whitey commented. "As much as I never thought Nathan would settle down, I'm glad it was you he picked. The two of you make a good couple. If only you had found him and straightened him out back in high school," Whitey laughed. "It would have saved me a whole lot of trouble."

"Hey," Nathan laughed. "I wasn't that bad."

Whitey gave him a look. So did Haley.

"Okay, maybe I was that bad."

"And we're…we're not a couple actually. We're just friends," Haley smiled. "Best friends actually."

"Well you know what they say," Whitey commented. "One of the greatest gifts in life is to fall in love with your best friend." He looked up at Nathan. "You know what I mean boy."

Nathan gave him a panicked look.

Their conversation was broken by Brooke's raspy voice yelling from across the reception hall.

Haley sighed. "I should go, it was really nice meeting up with you again though Whitey. I'll be in town for a little while longer, you should stop by sometime for some tea."

Whitey gave her a kind smile. "I'll be sure to do that."

Haley gave him a smile and a nod before hurrying off to meet Brooke. Nathan made a move to follow her but was stopped by Whitey's hand on his arm. "Now you hold on for a minute young man."

Nathan turned around and gave him a curious look.

"How long?"

"How long what?" Nathan asked.

"How long have you been in love with her, you idiot!"

"I don't…I don't know what you're talking about." Nathan sputtered.

"Oh don't play dumb with me boy," Whitey shook his head. "I know real love when I see it and _that_ is real love, so how long?"

Nathan sighed. There was no use arguing with Whitey. "Almost seven years."

"_Seven years? _ You've been in love with the girl for _seven years_ and you haven't said anything?" Whitey roared.

"Shhh!" Nathan looked around panicked, trying to make sure no one had overheard them, before turning back to Whitey with a glare. "Keep it down, will you?"

Whitey just shook his head. "There are a lot of things I don't know much about, but one thing I do know is true love. I lost mine when I was about your age, and I can never get her back. You can, don't let her get away, before you know it it'll be too late."

Nathan sighed. "It already is, she's engaged."

Whitey looked around. "Well he's not here is he?"

Nathan widened his eyes. He hadn't expected that from Whitey of all people.

"I know, I know, it's wrong and all that crap. But in the end, that's all it is, _crap_. If you love her, and you've loved her for seven years, you've got to _do something about it_. That's not the kind of love that's going to go away. If I could have one wish I would wish for more time with my Camilla." Whitey paused for a second with tears in his eyes before re-focusing his attention on the young man in front of him. "I'm telling you boy. Don't end up like me, filled with regret over what could have been. The love of your life is still alive and she's standing right there across this room so you'd better go get her or you're going to end up regretting it for the rest of your life."

Nathan looked at him for a moment before turning to see Haley standing there across the room, listening patiently to a very animated Brooke. Before he could even process what he was doing he could feel himself drifting towards her. He had only made it a few steps when Whitey's words really sank in. "Whitey?" He turned back to give the old man a small smile. "I'm sorry about Camilla."

"That's okay boy," Whitey smiled back. "At least, when all is said and done I can say I tried my best, I gave her everything I had and I had a few good years with her. Now go make sure you can say the same."

"Thanks…for everything." Nathan said as he turned back around and made his way towards the love of his life.

When he got close enough he could hear that Brooke was talking about the DJ and the music he was playing. "I mean, we gave him that list for a reason! And he just goes and…"

"Hey," Nathan smiled as he put his hand on Haley's shoulder. She jumped slightly before turning around to face him. Brooke quieted down as she noticed the expression on his face. "Sorry," he muttered, his eyes remaining locked on Haley's, "I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's okay." Haley's voice was soft and her eyes were boring into his with the same intensity he was sure was swirling in his own. It was in moments like these that he could almost imagine she felt the same way…

"Do you want to dance?"

"I don't know…" Haley looked over and Brooke who was now watching the two of them intently.

"No, no! Don't stay here because of me! Go!" Brooke pushed Haley lightly towards Nathan.

"Brooke, I can…"

"Haley…" Brooke looked intently into her friend's eyes. "I'll be fine, now go."

Haley gave him a small smile before taking his outstretched hand and letting him lead her out onto the dance floor. "I love this song," Haley smiled as Make You Feel My Love by Adele started playing through the speakers. _I love you_, Nathan thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around her and started to sway to the music.

_When the rain is blowing in your face  
><em>_And the whole world is on your case  
><em>_I could offer you a warm embrace  
><em>_To make you feel my love_

Haley's eyes snapped shut as she rested her head against Nathan's chest. She couldn't explain it but somehow being here in Nathan's arms, listening to this song, it just felt so…_right_. She didn't think she had ever felt so safe in her entire life. Nathan's whole body was warm and she could feel his heart racing through the thin material of his white dress shirt.

_When the evening shadows and the stars appear  
><em>_And there is no one there to dry your tears  
><em>_I could hold you for a million years  
><em>_To make you feel my love_

_I know you haven't made your mind up yet  
><em>_But I would never do you wrong  
><em>_I've known it from the moment that we met  
><em>_No doubt in my mind where you belong_

Nathan smiled softly to himself as he heard Haley start to sing along. He wasn't even sure if she was aware of it, it was so soft, but he didn't think he had ever heard anything so beautiful before in his life. He had heard Haley listening to this song a few times before but he had never listened to the lyrics until now. Hearing the girl of his dreams singing those words as she stood there, swaying in his arms made him think about his own situation and about what Whitey had said. The old man was right, life was short.

_I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue  
><em>_I'd go crawling down the avenue  
><em>_No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do  
><em>_To make you feel my love_

Nathan lowered his head so his lips were pressed against Haley's ear. "Haley, I have to tell you something…something that I've wanted to tell you for a really long time and I just…it's never been the right time, or the right place and I just…" Nathan took a deep breath, he was just going to have to come right out and say it. "Haley, I love you."

_The storms are raging on the rolling sea  
><em>_And on the highway of regret  
><em>_The winds of change are blowing wild and free  
><em>_You ain't seen nothing like me yet_

Haley snuggled herself closer to his chest. "I love you too Natey."

"No, Haley," Nathan pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. "You don't understand. I've been holding this in for a really long time and I just…I can't anymore. Haley, I love you, I'm _in_ love with you. I always have been, and I…I always will be."

_I could make you happy make your dreams come true  
><em>_Nothing that I wouldn't do  
><em>_Go to the ends of the earth for you  
><em>_To make you feel my love  
><em>_To make you feel my love_

* * *

><p><strong>Finally, Nathan's feelings are out there. Anyways, please let me know what you think! As you know, I love to hear from you guys!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note**: **I'm so sorry an update has taken this long and I just wanted to thank .9, things had gotten so busy I had completely forgotten about this story, and your review made me realise that I had to finish it. And also, a special thank you to all of you who who read and review, I love reading each and every one of your responses. It feels good to know that other people out there are enjoying your work.**

* * *

><p><em>"No, Haley," Nathan pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. "You don't understand. I've been holding this in for a really long time and I just…I can't anymore. Haley, I love you, I'm in love with you. I always have been, and I…I always will be."<em>

Haley froze in place, a stunned expression on her face.

"Haley?"

No response.

"Haley, please say something." Nathan begged as he looked into her eyes, trying to find some sort of answer in their depths.

"I…I have to go…" Haley muttered, her expression completely blank.

"Haley no, please just…"

"I'm sorry," Haley muttered with tears in her eyes before turning and running out of the hall, leaving Nathan standing there, heartbroken once again.

* * *

><p><em>April 29<em>_th__ 2011_

"Wait so tell me again, what exactly happened?"

"Lucas, you're worse than Brooke and Peyton sometimes."

"Haley…"

"Okay, so we were dancing and he just leaned over and told me he loved me, and I thought he meant as a friend of first, so I told him I loved him too, but then he said he was _in_ love with me and that…and that he always had been."

"And you _left_?!"

"What was I supposed to do? He completely blindsided me! I didn't know what to do!"

"You don't _leave_! The guy finally musters up the courage to tell you he's in love with you and you run out on him." Lucas threw his hands up in frustration. "Haley, do you realise what this is going to do to him? Do you even understand how much this has been killing him these past few years?" He turned away from her as he continued to mutter to himself. "And I'm just as much of an idiot as you are, I told him 'go ahead, just run right in there and get your heart broken'."

"Wait," Haley stopped pacing and stared at him wide-eyed. "_You_ _knew_?!"

"Of course I knew! The whole world knew! Except for you apparently! I didn't think it was possible for any one person to be so oblivious but congratulations Hales…"

"Well what did you want me to do Lucas? I'm engaged!"

"Oh come _on_! You and Adam are barely even a couple. How many times have you seen him since the wedding? Once, twice…?" Lucas scoffed.

"So what if we don't see each other that often?" Haley countered.

"Hales, it's been two weeks! Peyton and I have gotten married and gone on our honeymoon in that time and he can't even make the time to see you? I mean the guy couldn't even make it to the wedding! Besides, you're different around him…"

Haley opened her mouth to protest but swiftly closed it again.

"Don't even try that with me," Lucas warned when he saw her expression. "You know I'm right. Look, I don't have anything against the guy, in fact, I even told Nathan to back off at first and give you guys a chance, but the truth is he's not right for you Haley. I mean, you can't even be yourself around him, how are you going to build a marriage on that?!"

"Luke, he's a good guy."

"Maybe so, but he's not the guy for you. He's not Nathan," Lucas stated simply.

"Nathan's my best friend," Haley sighed, "we can't ever be anything more."

"Haley, you and I both know that that's bullshit!" Lucas cried. "Look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't have feelings for Nathan."

"Lucas, it wouldn't work. I just, I can't have feelings for Nathan."

"You can't or you won't let yourself?" Lucas countered before sighing. "Why are you hiding from this Haley? Are you scared that if you admit you're in love with him you might actually be vulnerable for a change? You might get your heart broken? Haley I've been there. I hid with Brooke just like you're hiding with Adam and look what it did. Do you remember all that chaos and drama? How many people got hurt along the way? Just because I was scared that if I actually let Peyton in again she would break my heart, like she did the first time we were together. But Haley, I'm telling you now, it's worth the risk. If you don't feel anything for him then fine, there's nothing either of you can do about that, but if you think there's even a chance you could love him back, don't hide from it. I mean…God Haley, it's _Nathan_ for Christ's sake! And Nathan is definitely not Felix; you know that as well as I do. If there's any guy you can trust with your heart, it's Nathan."

Haley sighed. "Lucas, it's more than just that…"

"Babe?"

Haley spun around to see Adam standing in the doorway.

"Is everything okay?"

"Adam," Haley breathed out, shooting a worried glance towards Lucas. "What are you doing home?"

Adam grinned. "Our wedding is in a two weeks. You didn't think I would leave my beautiful bride to plan the whole thing on her own did you?"

"Well…" Lucas started.

Haley elbowed him in the side.

"Ow!" Lucas jumped away from her. "Damn Hales, what the hell?"

Haley gave him a pointed look before whispering quietly. "Luke…be nice." She then turned to Adam. "Honey, that's really sweet of you, but to be honest, Brooke and I have already gone through most of the wedding details. We didn't want to leave anything until the last minute so the wedding's pretty much all planned out already."

"Well I'd booked a few appointments just in case and I was thinking we could go down there together. That client I was telling you about decided to sign with us and that means a huge income boost for me so what do you say? We can go and spend that quality time together you were talking about, and if you find something you like better than what you already have, I can arrange to have the change put in."

Haley paused for a moment. To be honest, she had been planning this wedding for months now and she was kind of relieved to have it all over and done with. The last thing she wanted to do now was go out there and look at new options. On the other hand, she and Adam had barely spoken in weeks, they really did need to spend some quality time together. "Okay," Haley smiled hesitantly.

"Okay?" Lucas repeated before lowering his voice. "Haley, do you not remember what we were just talking about?"

Haley gave Adam a smile. "Can you just give me and Lucas a minute to say goodbye?"

Adam looked confused for a minute but nodded his head. "Umm…sure, I'll just wait in the car."

The second he was out the door Lucas started. "Haley, you know that—"

"Lucas," Haley gave him a pleading look, "I can't do this. I'm engaged and I love Adam. I really do. Please just drop it. Nathan's just really confused right now but just give him some time and he'll see that he doesn't love me, not in that way anyways."

"Haley you're lying and you know it. Nathan's loved you for _seven years_, how is that confusion?"

Haley's cell phone beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket before reading the message from Adam.

She sighed. "Lucas, I've got to go. Adam's waiting."

Lucas shook his head. "Bet _he_ wouldn't wait for seven years…" he muttered under his breath but Haley heard him anyways.

"Luke…"

"No," Lucas shook his head. "You know what Haley? You do what you've got to do, but just know this. Nathan won't wait around forever. One day you're going to come to your senses and realise it's too late…"

Haley opened her mouth to respond but Lucas just shook his head as he stormed past her and out of the house.

* * *

><p>"What do you think of these?" Adam asked as he held up a bouquet of red roses.<p>

Haley scrunched her nose, she hated roses. "Umm…well Brooke and I had picked out some lilies already."

"Lilies?" Adam asked, sounding dubious.

"Don't you remember? I had found those purple flowers and sent you the picture, but you weren't too keen on them and so Brooke and I picked out some lilies."

"Oh, I don't remember that…"

"You were in a meeting I think…" Haley muttered.

"That must be why," Adam smiled. "You know how focused I get when I'm in a meeting."

Haley forced a smile. "I sure do."

The two of them headed into a few more stores with similar outcomes and after a while Adam turned to Haley with a sigh. "Hales, it really doesn't seem like you want to be here. It seems like your pretty set on whatever you and Brooke have already planned out."

"It's just…" Haley struggled to find the right words to explain herself without hurting him. "I've spent the past few months running around with Brooke, planning the wedding and all and, while it was fun at times, it was also incredibly frustrating and exhausting and now I'm just glad we're done."

Adam's face fell slightly, although she could tell he was trying hard not to show his disappointment. "I just, I don't know. Looking at different flowers, tasting different foods, picking out colour schemes, I thought you would find it romantic, planning our wedding."

"Well, I think it can be romantic, or it could have been romantic, but it just seems a little late to be doing all of this. I would have loved to do all of this with you but we would have had to do it months ago. It's just…it's too late now."

He could hear the subtle edge in her voice. "Haley, I know you don't like that I work so much…"

Haley shook her head. "Adam, I saw this couple the other day, down by the docks. They were newlyweds and watching them, I just… I know that we're not that kind of couple. We're not all gooey and romantic, we're practical, and I've always loved that about our relationship but recently I've been thinking, what if we're just hiding? I mean, honestly, you seem to be more than okay with leaving for weeks at a time and working through most of the day, and I think that I'm more okay than I should be about you being gone all the time. We're _engaged_, we're supposed to be in that honeymoon phrase where we're all blissed out and wanting to spend every waking moment with each other, but we've never had that, and when I think about us, I can't imagine that we ever would. And I mean, what if everyone's right? What if that's what it's all about?"

"Haley," Adam rested his hands on Haley's arms and turned her towards him, "I love you, and I love how sweet and innocent you can be, but that kind of stuff only happens in fairy tales, that's not real life. Some people get all blissed out, but some are more practical, and that's okay. We don't have to be like everyone else. I love you and as long as you love me too, that's all that matters."

Haley sighed. "You're right… I know you're right. I'm sorry, I'm being stupid. There's just all this crazy stuff going on right now and it's messing with my head."

Adam looked at her, concerned. "Is this about whatever you and Lucas were talking about?"

Haley looked up at him, surprised.

"I may not be home that often, but that doesn't mean I'm completely oblivious. I noticed tension when I came in there."

Haley closed her eyes.

Adam ran his hands down her arms and intertwined their fingers. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No," she mumbled. "I just want to forget. Let's do something fun."

"Okay," Adam smiled. "There's this great Italian place I heard of down the street. They're supposed to make an amazing fettuccini alfredo."

Haley stayed quiet for a few more moments, she was thinking hard about her argument with Lucas. Maybe he was right, maybe she wasn't really herself when she was with Adam, but that didn't mean that she couldn't be. "I have something in mind. If you're okay with it."

"Sure," Adam nodded, "whatever will make you feel better."

Haley gave him a kind smile. He really was a great guy. "Come on."

* * *

><p>"Haley really? Karen's Café <em>again<em>? I mean, she's got great food and all, but you can only eat at one place so many times before you…"

"We're not eating," Haley grabbed his hand as she led him through the door and towards the stairwell behind the counter. "Come on."

She led up the stairs before reaching out for the handle at the top. She turned to face him in the darkness and gave his hand a soft squeeze. "Now what I'm about to show you, almost no one knows about. Lucas and Nathan are the only two that have ever been up here." And with that she pulled open the door and led them out onto the open expanse. "Ta da!"

Adam looked around in surprise as he took in the twinkling lights hanging above them and the numerous plastic decorations set up around patches of turf. "What is this?"

Haley laughed softly as she took in her surroundings. It had been too long since she had been here. "Lucas and I built this place in the sixth grade, and it's still up. Somehow, despite everything, we've managed to keep our pact."

"Your pact?" Adam asked confused.

Haley smiled softy as she thought back to her teen years. "Lucas and I had always bonded through little rituals we started as kids and one day, a little while before Lucas and I were set to go off to university, we were sitting up here and Lucas expressed to me his fear that we would get older and forget about our youth, about enjoying all the little things in life, and that we would lose ourselves and each other along the way. I had never been able to admit it but I had always had the same fear, so that night we made a promise to never let this place get torn down, to always keep it the way it had been, so that we could know that no matter what happened, we would always have our childhood locked up on this roof. I remember when I used to come home for the summers, this was always the first place I would come, I would just sit up here and remember being a kid, carefree and innocent. Sometimes I really miss that."

Adam put his arm around her and gave her shoulder a soft squeeze as he continued to look around. "I don't know, I never really saw growing up as a bad thing. In fact, I think I've always looked forward to it. I always found the kinds of things we did as kids kind of…mundane and immature. It's like a period in your life where you're lost and you have no purpose, and so you just go around doing mindless things to help pass the time until you can finally become and adult and do what you were meant to do with your life."

Haley shrugged. She could see his point, it didn't mean that she agreed with it, but every couple was bound to have their differences.

Adam seemed to sense the awkwardness and changed the subject. "Do you and Lucas still come up here?"

Haley smiled at that. "Every year, without fail, on the anniversary of that day, Lucas and I come up here and go through all our traditions."

"So what are these amazing traditions you keep mentioning?" Adam smiled playfully.

Haley's eyes sparkled and Adam was mesmerized. Haley had never had that look around him. Sure, he'd seen it all the time when she was with Nathan, and sometimes when she was with Lucas as well, but never with him. "Well," she smiled coyly as she walked towards the other end of the rooftop, "we start out with some mini-golf." She reached over and pulled out two putts and golf balls from a cloth bag tied to the side wall of the roof. "Then we have a milk balloon fight…"

"Milk balloon?" Adam asked incredulously.

Haley laughed. "I know, it was Lucas' idea, you fill some of the balloons with water and a few of them with milk. Eventually we got to the point where they were almost all filled with milk though, it was just so much more fun when you got someone."

Adam pursed his lips. "So what do you guys do after the…" he cringed, "milk balloon fights?"

"We write our predictions." Haley noticed the look on Adam's face and elaborated. "Every summer since we were ten years old Lucas and I would write about what we wanted to happen in the year ahead. We would put them in this box and hide them behind that brick right there." Haley pointed to the wall across from them were one brick was slightly darker than the rest and jutted out slightly from the wall. She laughed. "It used to blend in a lot better than that but I think after all that time and all those predictions…" She trailed off as she noticed the expression on his face. "What?"

"Can I see them?" He asked hesitantly.

Haley paused for a second. The truth is, she had never shown anyone but Nathan those predictions. It had always been something that she and Lucas had kept to themselves, but she and Adam were about to get married and Lucas was right, she had kept a lot of herself hidden from him, he needed to get a chance to know the real her if they had any hope of maintaining a marriage. "Sure."

Haley walked slowly over to the wall before reaching for the loose brick and sliding it out from the wall. She reached her hand inside until it closed around the cool metal box which she pulled out before gently lifting the lid. She held out the box to Adam and watched as he reached inside and pulled out a few small folded sheets of paper. He walked over a few feet before taking a seat on the small picnic table resting in the corner. He unfolded the first sheet. "I will make out with Peyton Sawyer…or more_."_ He scrunched his forehead in confusion.

Haley laughed. "That was Lucas', seventh grade."

"I will get above 90% in all my courses," Adam nodded. "That's a pretty good one."

He opened the next one. "Felix will ask me to be his girlfriend."

Haley's eyes snapped shut at that.

"Wasn't Felix…?"

"Yeah, Felix was that guy I dated in high school." Haley didn't want to think about him, even though, she knew Felix was the reason she and Adam were together in the first place. The first thing that had drawn her to Adam was how different he was from Felix. She always told herself she would never again get so caught up in a guy that she lost herself, and she with certain that with Adam, that would never happen. She loved him, but it wasn't the same kind of love that could make her compromise her morals.

"Lucas will make the Raven's basketball team," Adam paused as he unfolded the next sheet. "Lucas and Nathan will finally put their differences aside and become friends." He looked up at Haley. "I didn't know that you and Nathan knew each other in high school, from what you said…"

"We didn't know each other personally," Haley explained. "Nathan and I never really had a proper conversation until our freshman year of college. In fact, I'm pretty sure he didn't even know I existed until I started tutoring him."

Adam watched Haley's face as she talked about Nathan. There was something about the expression she wore and the look in her eyes that he couldn't put his finger on. Either way he knew that he didn't want to hear about Nathan anymore. He walked back to Haley and put the predictions back into the box, watching as she carefully placed the lid back on before placing it into the hole in the wall and sliding the brick in after it. He turned his head to see a pile of balloons and a jug of water sitting near the wall to his right. "So I'm guessing this is where you guys fill up your water balloons for your fight?"

"Actually," Haley twisted her engagement ring around her finger a few times, "Lucas and I used to fill up those balloons downstairs. If we were in a really bad mood, Lucas and I used to come up here and just…"

"And just what?" Adam prodded.

"Well…we kind of used to throw water balloons down onto the street." She rushed out.

Adam frowned. "You did what?"

Haley blushed, she knew Adam wouldn't approve of this side of her. "You know, when you have a really long day or you're just really angry, and all you need to relax and get out your anger. Well this provides kind of a…release. You just get to let it all out, just be immature and childish and let loose for a little bit so that you can regain your sanity." She looked up at Adam, he was still frowning. "I guess you've never had that."

Adam shook his head. "Not really. When I'm upset I'd like to sit down with a good book under the covers, not go around harassing people on the street."

Haley could tell that he didn't mean to sound so judgmental, but it still frustrated her a little. Before she and Adam had always seen eye-to-eye, things with them had always been so easy, but it seemed that as soon as they had really started to settle into Tree Hill things had started to change. Maybe Lucas was right, she and Adam were twins in some ways; they both loved to read and relax and were both quite mature. However she had always found that she liked that none of her friends were just like her. They all had a unique way of balancing each other out. She, Lucas and Peyton kept everyone relatively grounded while Brooke and Nathan made sure that they still had some fun. While she would always be Tutorgirl, she found it was still nice to let loose every once in a while. It seemed that Adam didn't share that same desire. It was great that Adam loved the Tutorgirl side of her, but was that enough? Was it true love if he only loved part of her?

"I'm sorry Haley," Adam looked at her pleadingly, having noticed her silence. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just…I've never seen you like this. We've been dating for years and you've always been a constant in my life and now…I don't know, it just seems like you're changing."

Haley looked at him and smiled softly. "Can't you see Adam? This is who I've always been. I'm shy and responsible and all of that, but I'm also this person. The girl who loves to sing at concerts and hang out at the RiverCourt and have water balloon fights with her best friend."

Adam looked at her for a moment before turning away. "I'm starting to see that."

Her face flushed at his tone.

He turned back and, seeing her expression, sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to judge you or anything like that, it's just going to take some time for me to adjust. For so long I thought that you were a certain person, and it's just going to take some time for that to change in my mind."

_Will you still love me after it has?_ Haley wanted to ask. She was pretty sure she knew that answer already. She loved Adam, she did, but after her conversation with Lucas she was starting to wonder if she was _in _love with him. She saw the way that Lucas and Peyton were with each other, she and Adam had never been like that. Lucas and Peyton had seen every possible version of each other, from bitchy to broody to full-on depressed, and yet somehow they still loved each other. It seemed they loved every version of each other. She thought back to all the mistakes that Lucas and Peyton had made with each other, they were both far from perfect, and yet somehow they loved each other despite all their faults. She tried to think of one of Adam's faults and up until now she hadn't found any and it seemed he had found none in her. She could see that changing, the more she looked at him, the more judgmental he seemed. It seemed like he looked down on all her friends and all their activities. It seemed like he cared about his work more than anything else, more than her. And she knew she was changing in his eyes as well, she could see that he thought she was careless, irresponsible, childish. Lucas and Peyton loved each other so much that their faults seemed insignificant in comparison to their love. She and Adam had barely even begun to explore each other's faults and already it seemed to be tearing them apart. It seemed that their love wasn't even strong enough to bear the fact that they didn't enjoy the same recreational activities. How would their relationship survive when bigger faults were exposed? It seemed like she and Adam has always played nice with each other, they'd never let their guard down and always tried to appease the other, but how could they build a marriage on that? And more so, did she even want to? Haley's thoughts drifted back to the first time she had brought Nathan here…

"_Hales, where are you taking me?"_

"_Come on, don't be a chicken, you're not afraid of the dark are you?"_

"_No, I'm not afraid of the dark! But you keep tripping every other step, it's like _you_ don't even know where you're going." She couldn't see him but she could almost picture Nathan shaking his head in the darkness._

"_Oh shut up, you know I'm a klutz. We're almost at the top." Haley reached her hand out and felt the door handle. "We really should get Karen to put a light in here." And with that she pushed open the door to reveal the rooftop._

"_Woah!" Nathan exclaimed as he stepped out onto the rooftop. He admired the lights and the various decorations before turning to look at Haley. "This is amazing! Did you do all of this?"_

"_Lucas and I did, in high school," she explained before going on to explain the story of her and Lucas' vow to keep this place intact._

"_Wow…" Nathan breathed. "I wish I'd had a place like this growing up."_

_Haley ran a hand up and down his arm, they had been friends for almost a year now and she knew all about his messed up childhood._

_Nathan gave her a small smile. "So, what did you guys used to do up here?"_

_Haley proceeded to explain all the activities that her and Lucas partook in every year. "You know what? You should do it with me! Lucas and I always do this to preserve our childhood and you never had much of a childhood so if anyone deserves this, it's you."_

_Nathan looked at her, shocked. He knew what a sacred tradition this must be. He was sure she had never done this with anyone but Lucas before and vice versa. "Are you sure Lucas would be okay with that? It's your tradition, I don't want to impose on that."_

_Haley shook her head. "You and I both know Lucas wouldn't mind," she paused, "unless you don't want to, because that's fine too. I know it's a little childish and…"_

"_Haley," Nathan smiled fondly, she was so cute when she rambled. "I'd love to. I just didn't want to ruin your tradition."_

"_Not possible." Haley smiled back._

_They spent the rest of the evening playing mini-golf, having milk balloon fights, and even throwing a few water balloons down on unsuspecting civilians. _

"_Ah!" Haley shrieked as she threw the balloon over the wall, grabbing Nathan by the arm and ducking down with him as the business man below yelled something about rotten teenagers._

_Nathan laughed. "I've never seen this side of you before."_

_Haley couldn't help but feel nervous at those words._

_Noticing the expression on her face Nathan's laughter died down and he reached up to cup her cheek with his hand. "That's a good thing Haley." He he gave her a soft smile and chuckled. "I mean, I love the fact that you're all studious and responsible, but I love this side of you too. Thank you for showing this to me. It means more than you could ever imagine."_

_Haley looked into his eyes and could feel herself being drawn in. She could feel her brain screaming at her to stop but she couldn't. Her eyes were locked on his and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't look away. His hand was warm and rough against her cheek and she leaned into his touch. Her eyes roamed his beautiful face. He had always been handsome, but for the first time she noticed how truly attractive he was. He was by far the most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on. She could feel herself starting to lean in, her mind was screaming that she should stop, but her body wouldn't listen. She couldn't remember a time she had ever felt a pull this strong and the emotions coursing through her body… this was the strongest rush of emotions she had ever felt in her entire life. The only time she had ever even come close to feeling like this was back in high school with…_

_Suddenly Haley pulled away. Nathan gave her a questioning look. He lifted his other hand to her face. "Haley, what's wrong?"_

_Haley shook her head softly. She would not let herself go there. She had promised herself. She shook her head once again as she closed her eyes. She had never felt that out of control before, even with Felix things had never been like that. This was stronger than anything she had ever thought she could feel, and it was terrifying._

"_Haley," Nathan's soft voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Hey, Hales, what's wrong?"_

_She slowly opened her eyes and he lifted her chin to look into them. "I'm fine," she said, but she knew the tremor in her voice gave her away._

_He gave her a look. "Hales…"_

"_Nathan really," she offered him a small, unconvincing smile. "Really, I'm fine."_

_She could see that he didn't believe her, but it seemed that he was going to let it go. "If you decide want to talk about it…"_

"_I know," Haley smiled. "I will."_

_Nathan returned her smile. "So what's next on the list?"_

_She was grateful for the change of subject. "Well, usually Lucas and I finish with our predictions for the year ahead." She stood up and walked over to the brick wall on her left, closely followed by Nathan. He watched as she pulled out the tin box before reaching back inside the hole to pull out some paper. Nathan noticed a small blue sheet in the pile and pulled it out. "If I write on this," he gave her a stern look, "you have to promise not to read it."_

"_Read it right now or…?" She trailed off teasingly. _

_Nathan gave her a pointed look. "Read it ever. Or at least until I tell you."_

"_But…" Haley paused before giving him a cheeky smile. "What if I accidentally think it's mine and I just happen to…"_

"_Nope," Nathan shook his head. "That's why it's blue. You have to promise me you won't read it."_

_Haley looked up into his blue eyes. She didn't think she had ever seen them so serious before. "I promise."_

"_Okay," Nathan smiled, "now turn around."_

_Haley did as she was told. "Why…?" A second later her question was answered as she felt Nathan pressing the sheet of paper against her back. She waited for a few seconds as he continued to write. "Are you done yet?"_

"_Your back is cover in milk! I have to find a dry spot," Nathan complained._

"_Well maybe if you had been more athletically challenged and not thrown so many milk balloons at me, you wouldn't have this problem." Haley shrugged, making Nathan drop his pen._

"_Dammit Haley," he reached to pick it up, ignoring her snickering. "Maybe if you had been _less_ athletically challenged you would have dodged some of those balloons and we wouldn't have this problem."_

_Haley stuck her tongue out, despite the fact he couldn't see her. "If you don't finish in…"_

"_And…" Nathan drew out the word. "Done."_

_Haley turned around as he handed her the pen and paper._

"_What did you write?" She asked eagerly._

_He shook his head. "One day, you'll find out."_

"One day you'll find out," Haley whispered to herself, and she couldn't help her eyes from drifting down to the blue sheet swimming among the sea of white ones. Just like Nathan it stood out to her, and her fingers itched to pull it from the little tin and see what he had written. Her eyes snapped shut as she remembered that night at the wedding, the look in his eyes as he told her he loved her, she didn't think she'd ever seen anyone look at her that way before. She knew that she'd done what she had to do, it was what was best for both of them, it had to be, but then why was it that she couldn't silence that voice in the back of her head that told her she'd made a mistake?

* * *

><p><strong>I know you guys are probably disappointed but remember, good things come to those who wait! Everything will be revealed very shortly. Again, thanks so much to all of you who stuck with me and this story. Reviews are much appreciated! <strong>


	14. Chapter 14

__**Author's Note: So sorry this update took so long, I know I told most of you it would be up over a week ago but I got really sick and just got better, but it's finally up! A lot is revealed in this chapter and hopefully the answers you get are satisfying! I hope you enjoy it and please review, I love to hear from you guys, it honestly makes my day!**

* * *

><p><em>April 29<em>_th__ 2011_

Nathan walked into Tric and smirked as he noticed the way the girls turned towards him. Some of them even sent a wink his way. His head was still pounding from the night before but he didn't care, his only problem right now was the pained feeling seeping into his chest, the alcohol was starting to wear off and he could feel the memories from a few nights ago rushing back at him full force.

_I have to go…_

He shut his eyes tight to block out the image from a few days ago. He just wanted to forget that she had ever existed. He knew it wasn't her fault she didn't feel the same way but that didn't stop the pain he felt, the pain that she had caused.

"Get me a drink," he turned to the bartender before taking a seat and resting his head in his hands.

"Please don't, he's been drinking himself into a stupor for almost a week. Unless you want to have to deal with another drunken idiot tonight, cut him off."

Nathan turned to his side to see Brooke standing there. "Hey." She gave him a soft smile. "I would ask you how you are but I think I already have my answer."

"Brooke," he sighed. "I don't have time for this right now."

"I can tell," Brooke muttered sarcastically before motioning around him. "It seems like you've got a lot going on over here."

Nathan sighed. "Shouldn't you be with Haley?"

Brooke put her hand on his arm, forcing him to look at her. "Just because I'm her friend doesn't mean I'm not yours. I know you're hurting right now, and I'm here for you. We all are. We're worried about you Nathan."

Nathan shook his head. "I always told myself this would happen if I told her, but somehow there was still a part of me that hoped otherwise."

"We all thought so Nathan. In fact, I still think so…"

"Don't…" Nathan's voice was pained, he didn't think he could bear to hear this.

Brooke continued anyways. "I still think she's in love with you Nathan. You know I wouldn't say this to you if it wasn't true, especially considering the circumstances."

"It doesn't matter," Nathan's voice was hoarse. "I put myself out there. I did what Whitey said, I offered her everything I had and she rejected me, now I'm done."

Brooke looked at him for a few seconds before nodding slowly. "That's fair…I guess. But moving on with your life doesn't mean coming into the bar every day and drinking your pain away. Trust me, I tried that, all through high school in fact, and I know better than anyone that it doesn't work. You just wake up one day and realize how much of your life you've wasted away. If you're going to move on you need to do it the right way. The rest of us, we can help, whatever you need, we're going to help you get through this."

Nathan looked up at her and she could see the pain in his eyes. "But what if I can't? What if I never get over her Brooke?"

Brooke closed her eyes, she'd been asking herself that question for the past week. She had always believed in true love and if you asked her, Nathan and Haley were it, but she knew Haley and she knew that Haley would never invalidate her marriage by having an affair, if she married Adam, that would be it, the two of them would just live out their lives completely miserable. "You know what? I'm going to take care of this."

"Brooke…" Nathan warned.

"No," Brooke shook her head. "I've got this. You and Haley are two of my best friends and I'm not going to let the two of you be miserable for the rest of your lives. Now come on, first thing's first, I'm taking you home and we're going to get you completely sobered up."

* * *

><p>"So what do you think?"<p>

"You were right." Brooke shook her head sadly as she made her way over to her car with her phone pressed against her ear. She had just taken all the alcohol out of his house and packed it up in her car. She knew that this probably wouldn't stop him but she hoped it would at least help. She thought back to him sitting at that bar in Tric, he had promised he wouldn't go back but knowing him… "We need to do something, and fast."

"Was he drunk when you found him?" Peyton asked across the phone line.

"It was wearing off, but he still seemed pretty drunk to me."

"You're lucky…" Peyton muttered. There was an awkward silence for a moment as Brooke waited to Peyton to elaborate.

"P. Sawyer?"

"Well…" Peyton sounded apprehensive. "Do you remember Nathan in high school?"

"Yes! He was such an ass! I can't believe you actually dated him, and for like a whole year! I would have never put up with all his bullshit!"

"Brooke," Peyton laughed. "You slept with that ass remember?"

"Don't remind me," Brooke shuddered. "Anyways, what about high school Nathan?"

"Since the whole Haley incident, every time Nathan's been sober, he's been…"

Brooke's eyes widened. "High school Nathan? No, please tell me he hasn't gone back to that!"

Peyton shrugged. "I'm afraid so. I guess it makes sense when you think about it. Haley's what changed him, what did we expect him to do if he lost her?"

Brooke sighed. "It still doesn't make it any easier. What are we going to do?"

She could practically hear Peyton smirking on the other end of the phone. "I've got an idea… I'll call you later."

Brooke opened her mouth but all she heard on the other end of the line was the dial tone. "Dammit P. Sawyer!"

* * *

><p>"This better be pretty damn important," Nathan muttered to himself as he walked into Tric. Peyton had called him a few minutes ago and told him to meet her here, she had insisted it was urgent. Honestly, the last thing he wanted to do right now was leave his bed. He had kept his promise with Brooke from the day before, he hadn't had a drink since, but that didn't stop him from sitting in his room all day and wallowing in self-pity.<p>

"Nathan!" Peyton called from over at the bar. She gave a quick word to the bartender before heading around the bar to give him a hug. "Please don't get yourself drunk tonight," she whispered in his ear before pulling back and giving him a beaming smile. "I'd like you to meet someone."

Nathan knew that look. "No way, Peyton it's too soon…I'm not ready to…"

"I know." Peyton smiled knowingly. "I know you're not ready for any kind of emotional commitment and that's why I found someone who would be perfect for you. She's definitely not looking for any kind of emotional commitment, but I figure if you want to move on, it's a start…Just hold on one second while I go get her."

Nathan's heart sank in his chest as Peyton disappeared. He had a bad feeling about this.

She returned a few seconds later with a thin brunette in tow. "Nathan, this is Carrie."

"Hi, it's great to meet you, I'm a big fan," Carrie smiled.

Peyton smirked. "Carrie loves basket-ball."

Nathan looked her up and down before smirking. She was hot. _Not as hot as Haley…_ A voice in the back of his mind taunted but he pushed it down. He couldn't have Haley, he knew that now, and Peyton was right, it was time he moved on. "So Carrie," he took a step closer to her. "How did you meet Peyton?"

Carrie followed his lead as she stepped closer to him as well, resting her hand on his shoulder. "I've come to this bar a few times with some friends and Peyton's always been here." Her voice lowered as she smiled seductively. "One day I think she overheard me talking about the small crush I've always had on this hot basket-ball player, Nathan Scott."

Nathan's smirk widened as Carrie slowly started to run her finger down his arm.

"I thought she was joking when she told me she could set me up with him…" She looked up at him through her lashes.

"Alright," Peyton exclaimed loudly. "Umm…I'm sure Karen needs my help…" She looked around. "Somewhere. So I'm just…going to go…"

Nathan looked up and gave her a smile and a nod. Carrie's eyes remained locked on Nathan. "Let's go sit down somewhere more…private." She muttered after Peyton was out of sight.

Nathan nodded. Peyton was right, he was sure this wasn't going to lead anywhere, clearly this girl was just another groupie; but maybe spending some time with a girl that wasn't Haley would help him to get over her. And besides, this girl seemed harmless, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

><p>Haley kicked off her shoes the moment she walked through the door. Her day with Adam had been a disaster. They had disagreed on pretty much everything and there had been this awkward tension between them the whole time. In fact, when he had gotten a business call saying they needed him back in Charlotte, she could safely say that neither of them were disappointed to have the night end. At first she'd thought it was odd that they were disagreeing so much, she'd always thought that she and Adam had gotten along so well, but she more she thought about it, the more she was starting to wonder if this was the way things had always been between her and Adam, if there had always been an awkwardness between them. Sure, things were always civil between them, but maybe that had been because they had never really been themselves when they were together. She sighed, she didn't want to think about it anymore, all she wanted to do was go for a nice long bath and then crawl under the covers. She was half-way up the stairs when a rustling in the living room made her stop in her tracks. She quietly tip-toed down the stairs before grabbing the baseball bat by the coat rack. Nathan had always made her keep one of these by her door, saying that one day she might need it. She made her way quietly towards the living room and hid behind the doorframe for a second, taking a deep breath, before jumping out with the bat firmly in her hands, ready to fight off her attacker.<p>

"Hey Haley," Brooke didn't even look up from her magazine. "What's with the bat?"

"Brooke!" Haley shrieked. "What are you doing here?!"

Brooke shrugged. "Julian and I got into a fight, I thought I'd come and spend the night here."

"I would tell you to come on in but apparently you've already made yourself comfortable," Haley muttered sarcastically before taking a seat beside her best friend. "So what happened with you and Julian? You two never fight."

Upon seeing the look on Brooke's face Haley wondered whether she had made a mistake in asking. "Well, it all started with his _stupid_ poster!"

Haley scrunched up her face. "Poster?"

"Yes, its for some movie _The Red Line_. You know how most of Julian's stuff's just been packed in the basement for weeks right? Well I guess he decided he'd start unpacking it, you know, make our moving in more official and all. Anyways, I come home from work so see this _god __awful_ poster _in my living room_. Needless to say I wasn't happy about it." Her face softened a touch as she continued. "It turns out it that the day he saw that movie was the only day he was really able to connect with his dad."

Brooke took in Haley's questioning expression before elaborating. "Julian's dad, well, he reminds me a little of Dan Scott."

Haley cringed.

"Yeah," Brooke shuddered. "And he came all the way over to our house earlier today just to tell Julian that he thought he was making a mistake by moving in with me!"

"How did Julian take that?" Haley asked, concerned.

"Not well." Brooke gave her a sad smile. "But there's more. Julian's dad asked him if he was quitting the movie industry to get married."

Haley's eyes immediately shot down to Brooke's ring finger.

"Don't bother," Brooke muttered miserably when she noticed Haley's shift in focus. She covered up her left hand self-consciously. "Julian doesn't want to marry me."

"Brooke, I'm sure that's not true."

Brooke threw her hands up. "Well when I asked him about it he dismissed it, as if the very idea of us ever getting married was somehow completely ridiculous to him!"

Haley put a comforting arm around her best friend. She knew how badly Brooke wanted to marry Julian, especially with her and Peyton so recently engaged. It seemed like Brooke had been looking for true love her whole life and she had found it in Julian. Even though they had only been dating for a little over a year Haley could tell that Brooke was ready to marry him. "I'm sorry Brooke."

Brooke shrugged before turning to Haley. "Now enough about me. What did Adam do?"

Haley looked up at her, startled. "What do you mean?"

"Oh don't you act all innocent with me Tutorgirl. I noticed your gloomy depressed face the moment you walked through the door."

"Hey!" Haley protested for a moment before reluctantly giving in. "I don't know. Today Adam and I went wedding shopping…"

"But we've already got all the wedding planning done…" Brooke paused for a moment before jumping up and tucking her feet under her. "Oh no! Don't tell me he changed our months of planning! I will kick his scrawny little a..."

Haley laughed half-heartedly. "No, we didn't change any of the plans. I think he could tell I wasn't really into it."

"Well of course you weren't!" Brooke cut in. "I love planning weddings but it's exhausting, why would you want to do it twice!"

"I know," Haley sighed. "I think he just wanted to be a part of it, and I feel bad for taking that away from him just because I wasn't in the mood."

Brooke folded her arms across her chest. "This is not your fault Haley. If he wanted to be a part of it, then he should have been here months ago. He can't come back here weeks before your wedding day and ask to be part of the planning!" She noticed Haley's silence and lowered her voice before continuing. "What did you guys end up doing instead?"

Haley paused for a second, looking slightly apprehensive. "I took him up to the rooftop, you know, where Lucas and I hang out every year."

Brooke smiled. "That must have been nice…" She paused as she noticed the expression on Haley's face. "Or not."

Haley looked down at her hands. "He thought it was childish, I could tell he was trying but he didn't understand it. He doesn't understand any of it. My friendship with you guys, all our little traditions, and at first I was really frustrated with him for it, but as I think about it, I don't know why I expected him to. Things between the two of us were always so easy. We were both so…predictable around each other and so there was never any drama and I think I'm starting to realize now that I'm different around Adam than I am otherwise."

Brooke nodded at that. She had noticed that more than anyone. "You're less fun when you're around him."

Haley swatted her in the arm and Brooke stuck her tongue out at her. "It's true."

Haley sighed. "I know. That's why today I wanted to show him that other side of me. I just figured that if he could see all of me, and he could accept that, that it would somehow solve all our problems."

Brooke knew what was coming next. "But he didn't…"

"No, he didn't. And you know what? He shouldn't have to. I've always been this person to him, just as he he's been with me, and he's still the same person that he's always been but I'm just starting to realize that maybe I was pretending before; and I was okay with it then, but I'm not anymore."

Brooke nodded. "Because of Nathan."

Haley looked at her best friend helplessly. "I don't know."

"Haley, why did you run away, after Nathan told you he loved you?"

Haley's eyes started to water as she looked down at her hands. "I was scared."

"Scared of what? I mean, I've heard the whole 'Felix Theory' from Lucas but I know you Haley. You're one of the strongest people I know and I can't imagine that the whole Felix ordeal made you _this_ afraid of falling in love."

Haley shook her head. "It didn't. Felix was a jerk, and I admit that it still makes me a little scared of falling in love and losing myself, but it's not the reason I ran away from Nathan that night."

Brooke looked at her, her face intense. "Then why did you? What is it that scares you so much about being with Nathan that you won't even give it a shot?"

Haley took a deep breath. "Do you remember when my dad died? It was the first year of university, just before I had met Nathan and it seemed like everything was falling apart around me. I had never lost someone before, not like that, and I was trying to take everything in my stride and act like I was alright but I was really struggling…and then I became friends with Nathan." Haley smiled softly. "And suddenly I felt like things were going to be okay. I don't know what it was about him but it seemed like everything was better when he was around."

Brooke gave Haley a small smile, waiting for her to continue.

"And then…" Haley took a deep breath. "Right after we had graduated from university, when my mom got sick…" Haley felt her eyes start to water again. "You were in New York building your company, Lucas and Peyton had just broken up and Lucas was in New York getting his book published. Adam and I had just started dating and that was the year that Adam was in Peru working with those investors and Nathan… well Nathan had just come back from the NBA after his knee injury. I remember the second he found out about my mom he came straight over to my house to see if I was okay," Haley laughed a little through her tears. "He couldn't drive so he hobbled all the way there on his crutches. Once he found out Adam was in Peru, he insisted on staying with me and he moved in that very day."

Brooke looked at her best friend, stunned. "I never knew any of this. I knew that you and Nathan stayed together for a while that year but I thought it was just because of his knee."

Haley shook her head before continuing. "He was amazing that year. He insisted that my mom stay with us until her cancer progressed and then when she was admitted into the hospital, he went with me every day to visit her. She passed a few months later and after a little while it just started to become too much for me. I lost my motivation and suddenly it seemed like nothing mattered anymore. I didn't care what happened to me and after a while I stopped taking care of myself and starting getting sick. Nathan forced me to go to the doctor where I found out I had depression. He said it was temporary and it would take some time, but if I really wanted to, I could overcome it."

Brooke just continue to stare at her best friend wide-eyed. "Haley, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you guys to worry," Haley's voice was thick with tears. "And I made Nathan promise not to tell anyone…"

Brooke shook her head. "You still should have told me."

Haley looked up at her. "And what would you have done? Left New York? Left your career and your dreams behind to come take care of me?"

Brooke looked at her, unwavering. "If that was what you needed, then yes."

Haley shook her head. "That's not what I wanted. I didn't want anyone else to give anything up. And besides, Nathan was everything I needed at that time. He refused to let me out of his sight all year. At times I thought he was going to drive me insane but he never gave up on me. He went with me every day to the cemetery even though I kept telling him he didn't need to come. He would make up these excuses; that he needed me to take him to physiotherapy or something like that, and then after he would find these reasons to go on 'adventures', as he called them, which basically consisted of us getting lost in the woods or down some random alley. He always claimed that it was because he was going stir-crazy with his knee but I knew he was just trying to get me out of the house. I'd always known that he was amazing but that year…"

"That was the year you fell in love with him wasn't it?" Brooke asked softly.

Haley shook her head. "No, I fell in love with him long before that, but I think that was the year I realized I was in love with him."

"Then why didn't…?" Brooke started but Haley already knew where she was going.

"I did. I started to think about what it would be like to be with Nathan, as a couple. He had kissed me once, in college, and I had gotten scared and ran away, but that year I started to wonder if that kiss had meant something. The more I thought about it the more I felt that Nathan and I belonged together. I was even planning on telling him how I felt about him."

Brooke looked apprehensive. "I'm sensing a but…"

Haley sighed. "I got a call from Lucas a few weeks later, he had just started his book tour and he wanted to know if I'd heard from Peyton, he hadn't seen or heard from her in almost a year and I just… I really started to think about it. I mean, Peyton and Lucas had been really close friends and even when they weren't a couple, everyone knew that they were more than just friends. I reminded me of all the things you guys keep saying about Nathan and I, how we've never been just friends. Lucas was always saving Peyton, the school shooting, Psycho Derek… it just made me realize that Nathan had saved me, that's what he had done that year. I don't even want to imagine where I would be now if it hadn't been for him. But it also made me realize that I can't live without him, and if we were to ever get together and it were to not work out…" Haley's tears spilled from her eyes and made tracks down her cheeks. "I can't live without him Brooke! I just… I can't…"

"Shhh," Brooke soothed as she pulled Haley into her and stroked her hair gently. "It's okay, it's okay."

Haley sobbed into her should for a few more minutes before pulling away and wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so…"

Brooke gave her a look, stopping her mid-sentence. "You have nothing to be sorry about. Haley, you need to tell Nathan this."

Haley's voice was raw, her emotions still very much at the surface. "I can't. It will change everything between us. I can't risk losing him…"

Brooke looked at her sympathetically. "You're already losing him. By not acting on what you both clearly feel you're losing him." She knew that this was quite hard for Haley to talk about, and she didn't want to cause her anymore pain, but she needed to hear this.

Haley looked down at her hands, her voice quiet. "I think...I think I'm starting to realize that."

* * *

><p>"She loves him." Brooke walked into Lucas' living room to find him and Peyton making out on the couch. The television was playing in the background and Julian was sitting awkwardly in an armchair, looking slightly disgusted by the sight in front of him. She could see the relief on his face when she walked into the room.<p>

"Hey baby." He gave her a soft smile but couldn't completely hide his feeling of apprehension. He didn't understand where she had disappeared to the night before. He knew that she had talked to his dad and that because of that talk his dad had come by later on in the night to apologize. It was strange but after that talk, for the first time in a long time, Julian felt like everything was going to be okay. In that moment he had loved Brooke more than he had ever thought possible and all he had wanted to do was share that moment with her. However, when he had gone to tell her the good news, she was nowhere to be found. The last he had known she'd been in their room and he hadn't heard her leave. He had called her non-stop all night but she never answered her phone. Finally, after trying almost all of their friends, he'd gotten a hold of Haley who'd told him that Brooke was staying with her for the night. He knew that she was probably upset with him, she always went to stay with Haley or Peyton when she was upset with him, but he couldn't possibly think of what he could have done to upset her. He hoped that whatever it was, she had forgiven him by now. He lifted himself up from the couch and walked slowly towards her. He gave her his grin, he knew how much she loved that grin, before leaning in for a kiss. No such luck.

Brooke turned her head away so his lips landed on her cheek before rushing past him. "No time," she muttered. "We've got to plan, and fast." She grabbed a pillow from the armchair Julian had just been vacating and tossed it at the happy couple. "Honeymoon's over you two, we have some serious scheming to do."

Lucas groaned as he pulled away from his wife. "Can't a man get any privacy in his own home?"

Peyton looked skeptical. "Scheming? Brooke, high school's over, don't you think we're a little old for this?"

Brooke widened her eyes and threw her arms out in front of her. "Not when our best friends' happiness is at stake!"

Peyton sighed. "Brooke, Nathan put himself out there and Haley turned him down. She made her choice and now they both have to live with it. There's nothing we can do."

Brooke shook her head vehemently. "But she loves him!"

Peyton gave her friend a sad smile. "Maybe she doesn't, maybe we were wrong all along, trying to force her to feel something she didn't."

"But she told me herself!" Brooke exclaimed. "She loves him! We have to help her get him back!"

Lucas gave her a startled look. "She said so herself?! But I talked to her just earlier today. I don't understand…"

"What exactly did she say?" Peyton asked.

Brooke looked down. She wanted to tell them, she really did. No one hated keeping secrets more than she did. But she couldn't, she had promised Haley that what she had told her would stay between the two of them. It seemed Haley wasn't ready to re-hash it all in front of everyone yet. "I…I can't say. I promised."

Lucas looked upset. "What do you mean you can't say? I'm her best friend! I just…I don't understand, we tell each other everything, at least I thought we did…"

Brooke went up to him and put a comforting hand on his arm. "It's not that she doesn't trust you enough to tell you Luke, it's just really hard for her to re-live right now. I know that she wants to tell you and Nathan more than anyone, she's the closest to the two of you, but I also know that that's what makes the two of you the hardest people for her to talk to about this."

Lucas nodded. He understood…to an extent. He just wanted to be able to be there for her, whatever it was that she was going through.

Peyton just shook her head. "She can't do this. I can't even count how many times she's broken Nathan's heart over the past seven years. She can't just randomly decide that she wants to be with him now, after everything she's done to him. Have you seen him recently? He's reached his limit, the guy seriously can't take anymore and I'm not going to stand by and watch while she breaks him! I like Haley, I do, but I can't let her do this to Nathan. I won't let her do this to Nathan."

Brooke looked at her best friend, shocked. She didn't know she felt this strongly about the issue. "Peyton I—"

"Hey Peyton, so what movie are we watching?"

Everyone turned their heads to see Nathan enter the living room with a brunette in tow.

"Carrie?" Peyton asked as she recognized the girl. Despite the fact that she had introduced them, she couldn't deny that she was surprised, she hadn't thought that the two of them would actually hit it off. The way Nathan was bringing her around, it almost seemed like the two of them were becoming a couple…

"I'm sorry but who are you?" Brooke asked as she gave the girl a dirty look. She didn't like her one bit, the girl looked like a first-class slut if you asked her, and the fact that she was clinging to Nathan's arm only gave Brooke more reason to dislike her.

Peyton turned and gave her a pointed look. "Brooke, don't you remember?" She muttered. "This is the girl I told you about, the one I was going to set Nathan up with."

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually gone ahead and done it!" Brooke whisper yelled. "I thought you were going to wait and at least give Nathan and Haley a chance."

Nathan cleared his throat awkwardly and Brooke's head snapped up, a sheepish grin spreading across her face as she realized she was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Hi." She turned to Carrie with a polite smile. "I'm Brooke…"

"Brooke Davis, I know, I'm a big fan of your clothing line," Carrie gushed.

Brooke forced a smile. "Really? Thank you." This girl was good. Unfortunately for her, Brooke Davis had seen the 'fake admiration' one too many times in New York, and she wasn't about to fall for it this time.

"And you must be Lucas," Carrie smiled extending her hand. "Nathan's told me so much about you!"

Peyton shot Nathan a look. She had only introduced them a few days ago. How much could they possibly have told each other?

"Really?" Lucas looked a little skeptical. "What has he told you?"

"You know," Carrie laughed awkwardly. "You're a writer, both of you used to play basketball together, all that kind of stuff…"

Lucas nodded slowly. Honestly, this girl looked way to clingy if you asked him. She was holding on to Nathan's arm for dear life and she seemed to desperate to fit in. It worried him a little bit. She was exactly the kind of girl the old Nathan would have hooked up with, but now, after everything with Haley, he was worried about what this kind of a relationship would do to him. He loved his brother but he didn't know if he could deal with high school Nathan again.

* * *

><p>Haley looked down at the phone in her left hand and took in a shaky breath. She didn't know what to do. Sure, now that she thought about it, she had always known on a subconscious level that she had loved Nathan, but she had never been able to admit it to herself until last night, and now that she was aware of it, she couldn't ignore it. It was eating away at her and all she wanted to do was call Nathan and tell him how she felt, tell him what an idiot she had been and that she loved him, but there was another part of her that knew what she felt was wrong. She was engaged to a perfectly nice guy who she had been with for years, he had never been anything but loving and faithful to her and she owed it to him to do the same. She owed it to him to put everything she had into their relationship and to try her very best to make it work, she knew that. She couldn't be sitting here having feelings about another man and yet, even as she berated herself for having such feelings, her mind couldn't help but wander to the man in question. Looking at it now, the fact that she and Nathan were meant to be was so painfully obvious, and she wondered how it was that she had managed to suppress her feelings for him for so long. In a way, she wished she could go back to her oblivious state, it would be so much easier for her and for Nathan. It was too late now for them to be together. She had been too stupid for too long. She had made her choices and now she had to live with the consequences. Nathan was an amazing guy, and she knew that he could find someone special, someone that would love him the way he deserved to be loved and not hide from their feelings until it was too late. She knew that she would always be unhappy with Adam, now that she knew what she could have with Nathan, her relationship with Adam would never be enough, but her choices got her into this situation and it was her burden to bear.<p>

Now she understood why the little things Adam did had always grated on her nerves, it was because she had always been comparing him to Nathan in her mind, and he had never measured up. She would have to work on that, it wasn't fair to Adam, it wasn't fair to Nathan, and it wasn't fair to herself. She knew now that she and Nathan could never go back to being best friends, in fact, they never really were. Her friendship with Nathan had never been the same as it had with Lucas. Lucas was like her brother, she could confide in him and come to him with her problems, but there had always been a line where the intimacy ended, a line they never crossed. With Nathan there were no boundaries, she had always felt closer to Nathan, even though she had known Lucas for longer, and trusted Lucas just as much; but now she understood why, she and Nathan had crossed that line numerous times. She thought back on their first kiss in college and all the near kisses that followed. It had always been there, that electric chemistry between them, she had just refused to acknowledge it. She looked back at her phone. She knew who she had to call, he was the last person she wanted to talk to right now but he was her fiancé and she knew that if she didn't call him now her resolve would break and she didn't know what she would do. Her shaky fingers dialed the number and she waited as it rang. All she wanted to do was hang up but she forced herself to keep the phone to her ear. She had made this mess and now she was going to have to deal with it.

"Haley?" Adam sounded distant, rushed. Haley hated when he sounded like that and mentally berated herself when she realised why, Nathan always sounded cool and relaxed.

"Hi…" Haley's voice was tentative. She didn't even know where to begin. "I was…" She took in a shaky breath. "I was wondering when you were coming back home, if maybe you could come in tonight. I really need to see you."

"Haley…" She knew that tone all too well.

"Please Adam. I know you're busy and I'm sorry but I…I really need you right now." Haley shut her eyes as she waited for a response. She knew who she needed and it wasn't Adam.

"Haley I can't tonight…" Adam paused, she could tell he felt bad. She had never called him with a request like this before and she could tell he knew it must be important for her to call him like this. "But I can try and come in tomorrow, I promise."

"Okay." Haley tried her best to hide her disappointment. She knew that his job was demanding, and he had worked his whole life to get to where he was today. She didn't want to take that away from him, but sometimes it really put a strain on their already strained relationship, especially now that she had realised her feelings for Nathan.

"I've got to go now, I've got another meeting starting in a few, but I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Haley smiled sadly as she started to pull the phone away, ready to hang up.

"And Haley?" She heard his voice just before she hit the 'end call' button and pulled the phone back up to her ear.

"Yeah?"

"You're okay right? Like everything's okay?"

Haley opened her mouth and closed it again. What did she tell him? She didn't want to lie to him, she had promised herself she would give this relationship her all and lying wouldn't help anything, but at the same time she couldn't tell him the truth. "I'm just stressed about some wedding de…"

"Oh shoot!" Adam cut in. "I've really got to go. Sorry babe. We'll talk later?"

"Su…" Haley started but before she could even respond she heard the dial tone. She sighed. Nathan had never hung up on her, Adam did it all the time. At that thought she hated herself even more, she had promised herself she wouldn't compare the two, but she couldn't help it. Every time Adam did something that annoyed her, her thoughts automatically flew to Nathan and how much happier she would be with him. He was her best friend, she knew him inside out, she knew all his flaws and weaknesses and yet she still loved all of him. She didn't have that with Adam.

* * *

><p>Brooke had to bite her tongue as she listened to Carrie gush on and on about her whirlwind romance with Nathan. From what she had heard the two had been dating for less than a week and had seen each other about twice. If you asked her, that wasn't a relationship, and judging by the look on Nathan's face, this was not what he had bargained for, but it seemed like he was determined to make this— whatever it was with Carrie— work. No matter what she said or how annoying she got, he would just put his arm around her and smirk. It was enough to make Brooke vomit. She knew Nathan, this wasn't him, at least not anymore. It was like being back in high school again and watching Nathan with one of his cheerleader flings.<p>

She was more than happy to excuse herself when her phone rang in the middle of one of Carrie's stories. She ignored Carrie's annoyed glare as she quickly grabbed the phone and left the room.

"Hey, Haley! Thank God you're calling! I couldn't wait to get out of there!"

"Aren't you at Lucas and Peyton's?" Haley asked. "Why can't you wait to get out of there?"

"Well you won't believe it but Na…" Brooke stopped herself and she remembered her conversation with Haley from the other night. She knew that she should tell Haley about Nathan and Carrie, but Haley had been through so much already, and she didn't want to add any more stress to her situation. "Oh just… Lucas and Peyton going at it again, you know how they are."

Haley laughed. "Oh yeah, the honeymoon faze."

"So what's up?" Brooke asked as casually as possible. She hated keeping secrets, especially from her best friends, but this was one that she couldn't spill.

"I know that I said I couldn't make movie night because I was supposed to have plans with Adam, but he can't make it tonight, so I was thinking of heading over there, I just wasn't sure if there was anything you wanted me to bring."

Brooke's eyes widened. "You can't come over here!"

"What?" Haley laughed.

"You can't. It's just that uhh… well Julian and I are still fighting and I was going to try and get him alone to talk while Lucas and Peyton were sucking face. But if you come over he'll have the perfect excuse to get out of it."

Haley was confused but decided to just go along with it. "Okay…well I guess I'll see you guys some other time then…?"

Brooke nodded, despite the fact that Haley couldn't see her. "Yeah, and I'll come by after I'm done talking to Julian, so we can hang out and have some girl time."

"That sounds good."

At that moment Julian walked out into the hallway. "Is everything okay?" He asked.

Brooke held up a finger to him before speaking into the phone. "So I'll talk to you later? Okay. Yeah, I'll call before I come by. Okay. Bye." Brooke put the phone in her pocket before turning to her boyfriend. "We need to talk."

Julian looked down at her apprehensively. "I knew this was coming."

"Can we go outside?"

Julian nodded and the two made their way out to the front porch before taking a seat on the porch swing. Julian immediately wrapped and arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, he didn't know what he had done to upset her, but he knew it must have been something pretty big for her to be looking so hurt and vulnerable. He never wanted to see her like that, much less because of something he had said or done. "What's wrong Brooke?"

She was silent for a few moments before she replied. "I love you, you know that?"

Julian nodded.

Brooke took a deep breath before pulling out of his embrace slightly, her eyes fixed straight ahead. "You really hurt my feelings when you said we weren't getting married."

Julian gave her a puzzled look. "When did I ever say anything about marriage?"

"When your dad came to town, you said we weren't getting married like it was some sort of completely ridiculous notion to you." Brooke shook her head as she fought back tears.

"Brooke, I was venting, it had nothing to do with the actual concept of marrying you," Julian lowered his voice as he waited for her to meet his eyes and when she finally did, he gave her a soft smile. "I think about that all the time."

"Really?" Brooke asked softly.

"Really." Julian squeezed her shoulder.

"Well good," Brooke looked down at her hands. "Because you're the one I want to marry, and I know that may sound a little too soon, but it's what I want."

"Hey, look at me," Julian gently lifted her chin before looking deeply into her eyes. "That's what I want too. You're the one for me Brooke Davis, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you okay? Don't ever doubt that."

Brooke nodded, her eyes full of tears.

"Good." Julian smiled as he leaned down to place a soft kiss on her lips. "Now let's get back inside before that crazy Carrie girl freaks out."

Brooke looked up at him surprised as they stood up. "You don't like her either?"

Julian chuckled. "I don't think anyone likes her. In fact, I'd be surprised if even Nathan liked her."

Brooke shook her head as they headed towards the door. "Why is he even with her?"

Julian's voice was soft. "Because he's still in love with Haley. He changed for her and she broke his heart, now he wants to go back to what's familiar, what's safe, and that's girls like Carrie."

Brooke gave him an admiring smile. "When did my baby become so insightful?"

"All this time you've been away, I've had nothing to do but think."

"What a shame!" Brooke exclaimed before smiling coyly at him. "I guess we have a lot of catching up to do."

Julian grinned widely at that. "Yes we do."

"I have a few hours before I have to head to Haley's. Want to head back to our place for a little while?"

Julian leaned down to kiss her lips. "You don't have to ask me twice."

* * *

><p><strong>So now you finally have it, the reason why Haley could never let Nathan in! Let me know what you think! I love feedback!<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: I just wanted to send a huge thank you to all of you who reviewed, I loved hearing your thoughts! I know this chapter is really short, but I wanted to give some time between this chapter and the next one, and I wanted this chapter to stand on it's own as it's a pretty big chapter plot-wise. I love to hear your thoughts and your feedback, it always makes my day! Hope you enjoy! Oh, and when Haley refers to the first time Nathan kissed her in her first year of university, that's in Chapter 5.**

* * *

><p><em>May 8<em>_th__ 2011_

"What are you going to do?"

Haley shook her head. "I don't know. I mean, I owe it to Adam to try my best in our relationship. He proposed and I said yes. That's on me. It's my responsibility to follow through, I can't just back out now."

Brooke sighed. "That's not fair. That's not fair to you, it's not fair to Nathan and it's definitely not fair to Adam. I know you're trying to do the right thing but you're ruining any chance of happiness that any of you have. Haley, Nathan is _in love _with you. Do you know how hard it must be to make Nathan Scott fall in love? I mean," Brooke put her hands over her heart as she looked at her best friend. "You've found the love of your life and it's your best friend. Do you know how many people would kill for that? And sure, the timing is bad, but at least it's not yet too late. You don't have to go through with this, you can still make yourself and Nathan happy."

"But what about Adam," Haley looked at her best friend painfully. "He's a good person and he doesn't deserve this. We're engaged to be married! I can't just walk out on him!"

"Do you think he'd rather you stay in a loveless marriage? I'm sure you love Adam but we all know you've never been _in _love with him. If you marry him you're going to be unhappy for the rest of your life. Do you think Adam would want that? To be in a marriage with someone who's in love with someone else? I know Adam acts oblivious sometimes but even he knows you and Nathan are meant to be together."

Haley shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't think I'd ever be in this situation. I just…I don't want to hurt anyone."

"It's a little late for that." Brooke's voice was soft. She wasn't trying to hurt her best friend, she was just trying to be honest. "Adam is going to get hurt either way Haley, you just have to decide if you're going to break your heart and Nathan's in the process."

Haley let her words sink in for a second before responding. "Let's say you're right. Who's to say Nathan would even forgive me for what I've done?"

"There's no way to know," Brooke shook her head, "but don't you think you owe it to both of you to at least try?"

* * *

><p>"I know how stressed out you were about the wedding and everything and I know that things between us have been a little tense…"<p>

Haley forced a smile. "Adam it's okay."

"No," Adam shook his head. "It's not. I've decided to make it up to you for all the long hours I've been working lately."

"What are you talking about? Adam, where are we going?" Haley asked apprehensively looking out the window. This route looked a little too familiar. Haley stomach sank as he pulled into the church parking lot.

Adam parked the car before turning to his fiancée with a smile. "Come with me."

Once inside Haley looked around in awe. The whole place had been decorated for the wedding. There were white flowers with ribbons at the end of each pew and a few tall beautiful bouquets up by the alter.

"Do you like it? It turns out we're the only people who've booked this place all month. Everyone's getting married at that new church that opened up across town. I talked to the pastor and he let me set everything up a little early. I know the flowers will probably have to be replaced, there's no way they'll last two weeks, but I figured at least, after all that planning, you could stand here and imagine your wedding day."

"Thank you Adam." Haley's eyes filled with tears as she glanced around the room, but they weren't happy tears. She couldn't help it but as she stood there at the back of the church and thought about walking down the aisle, the only person she could imagine standing at the other end was Nathan. She looked at Adam, really looked at him and she tried to imagine marrying him, she tried to imagine spending the rest of her life with him. She had promised him forever and she owed it to him to keep her promise. He was a good man, he would do anything to make her happy and she needed to do the same for him, she knew that. But she also knew that there was a hole in her heart where Nathan had been and that no matter how much she wanted him to, Adam couldn't fill it.

Her whole life she'd always felt like something was missing until that night when Nathan had told her he was in love with her. The emotions she had felt at his confession, that happiness, it was stronger than anything else she had ever felt before, and it had scared her so badly. She had thought that if she could run away she could escape it and things with her and Nathan could go back to normal but she was wrong. Once she had felt that level of joy, once she had realised what she had been missing all her life, she couldn't go back to her regular life and pretend that she was happy. She was terrified of anything changing between herself and Nathan but his words had strengthened her own feelings and they were becoming too strong to ignore. That night with Brooke, she just couldn't hold back anymore, she was so tired of pretending and she just wanted to feel what she was feeling and not have to push it down in fear. That was the first time since her mother's death that she had actually been able to acknowledge the fact that she was in love with her best friend. She had thought she was over it, she had told herself countless times she was over him, that they could never be anything more than friends. It had been so much easier when she was able to convince herself that he didn't see her that way, that friends was all they would ever be; but she couldn't deny it anymore. She was hopelessly, irrevocably in love with Nathan Scott. She always had been and she always would be. And now that she had realised it, it haunted her. Even now, as she was standing here in this church with her wonderful fiancé she couldn't get him out of her head.

Haley choked back a sob as she turned to look at her fiancé. "Adam, I love you so much."

Adam shook his head as he took in the expression on her face and the tone of her voice. "Oh no…"

Haley's eyes started to water but she forced herself to continue. "You are such an amazing guy, way better than I deserve. And you deserve someone that can love you the way you deserve to be loved."

He took a few steps back as his own eyes began to water. He turned to his side and slumped into one of the pews. "When did you realise?"

Haley gave him a questioning look.

"When did you realise you were in love with Nathan?" Adam asked as he ran a hand through his hair. His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was shaky but he was determined to keep it together.

"At the wedding…" Haley spoke softly. "I mean, I think I've always known, on some level, but that was the first time I could admit it to myself."

Adam nodded weakly.

Haley rushed to his side and took a seat beside him, holding his hands between hers as he turned to face her. "I am so sorry Adam. You have every right to hate me. You can say whatever you want to me, I know I deserve it."

Adam looked up at her sorrowfully. "I love you."

A tear rolled down Haley's cheek. "I love you too."

Adam shook his head softly. "Not in the same way."

Haley was silent for a moment, she didn't know what to say. They both knew he was speaking the truth.

"This is my fault."

Haley's head shot up at that.

"If I hadn't been working so much, if I had only been there more, you wouldn't have needed to turn to Nathan. It was that summer wasn't it? The summer your mom died, that you first realised you were in love with him."

She looked at him in surprise.

"I noticed it. I didn't want to, but I did. If only I had been there..."

Haley shook her head. "It's not your fault, there was nothing you could have done. Yes, I realised I loved him that summer, but I also realised that I had loved him long before that. To be honest, I think I fell in love with him the first time he kissed me, way back when we were in our first year of university. I was just too stupid to realise it, and because of that I'm hurting everyone around me…"

"You're a good person Haley," Adam muttered.

"Don't." Haley shook her head. "Don't try to make me feel better. Please. Just…just yell at me and tell me what a horrible person I am. That's what I deserve. You were nothing but good to me, you were the perfect boyfriend and the perfect fiancé and look at what I've done."

Adam looked at her. "Nathan's your true love, you have to fight for that."

Haley looked at him wide-eyed. "How can you say that?"

"Because you're mine." Adam squeezed her hands softly as he lowered his voice to a whisper. "You're _my_ true love. I will always love you and want to be with you, but more than anything, I want you to be happy, and it's clear that that's not with me. I don't want you to marry me just because you said yes. I want you to marry me because you love me the same way that I love you."

"Adam…" She took a deep breath.

"Please," Adam shook his head. "Don't lie to me. I know. I think I've always known. I just…I'd always hoped that maybe one day…"

"I'm so sorry," Haley whispered. "I never meant to hurt you."

"I know." Adam's eyes snapped shut as he nodded softly. "I think I should go." He stood up slowly.

Haley looked at him sadly. "Adam?"

He turned to look at her.

"The girl you're looking for, you're true love, she's out there somewhere, and you're going to find her."

Adam looked at her sadly, he knew Haley was wrong, she was his true love, but it felt so good to hear those words and to believe, for a second, that he might still have a chance at happiness. "I hope you're right."

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is! The end of Haley and Adam! Let me know what you think! I love to hear from you guys!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: So despite the fact that I have a midterm tomorrow I couldn't resist updating this story, it's just too good of a distraction. I just wanted to say a big huge thank you to all of you who reviewed, I loved reading what all of you had to say. For from reason the site won't save all my line breaks so I'm sorry for the sections where there is no line break, I can't seem to get them to stay. But anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, now that Adam's out of the way we can move on to what I'm sure you've all been waiting for...Naley!**

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><p><em>May 9<em>th<em> 2011<em>__

Haley walked towards the door and opened it to see her best friend looking frantic. "I got here as soon as I could."

Haley smiled at her before stepping aside so she could enter. She led the way to the living room and took a seat on the couch as she waited for her Brooke to do the same.

"What's going on?" Brooke asked as soon as she was seated.

"Well…" Haley started. "Last night Adam took me for a surprise, he had felt bad about working so many hours recently and he wanted to make it up to me."

"He should…" Brooke muttered but was silenced by a pointed look from Haley.

"Anyways, his surprise… well he took me to the church where we were supposed to get married."

"Wait," Brooke stopped her. "_Were_ supposed to get married?"

Haley sighed. "Brooke, can I just finish the story?"

Brooke paused for a second, opening her mouth before closing it again with a pout. "Fine."

"So he took me to the church and it was all decorated exactly the way it would have looked on our wedding day and I…" Haley trailed off as she took a deep breath. "I just…I don't know what's wrong with me Brooke. When I was in that church and I looked down the aisle and tried to imagine getting married, the only person I could see standing at the alter waiting for me was Nathan. I tried…I tried _so _hard to push him out of my mind, to tell myself that I was marrying Adam, but I couldn't do it. I realised that I can't hide from it anymore Brooke, and I was stupid to try in the first place. Nathan and I are meant to be together, I don't know how I couldn't see it before but I see it now."

Brooke looked at her shocked for a few minutes before throwing her arms into the air in exasperation. "Finally!"

Haley gave her a sad smile and Brooke's expression softened. "So I'm guessing this means you ended things with Adam."

Haley nodded.

"Are you okay?"

Haley hesitated for a moment before nodding again. "I think so. I mean…I do love him, I'm just not _in_ love with him, and you were right, it's not fair to either of us for me to marry him knowing that I'm never going to be able to love him the way he deserves to be loved."

Brooke nodded. "Does this mean you're finally going to tell Nathan you feel the same way about him?"

Haley nodded. "That is, if he'll even talk to me, let alone agree to be with me."

Brooke gave her friend a knowing smile. "Even now, you're still oblivious. Haley, the guy's been in love with you for seven years, it's always been you and it's only ever going to be you. If anything, his pride may be a little wounded, but I think you should talk to him as soon as possible. Pride can be a nasty thing and you need to make sure he knows how you feel before it's too late."

Haley nodded. "I was thinking of doing it tonight. Lucas was saying something about going mini-putting."

Brooke smiled. "Perfect."

* * *

><p>Brooke, Julian, Lucas and Peyton were stood together at the entrance to the mini-putt course as they waited for their other two friends.<p>

"Wait, Haley's going to tell him _tonight_?!"

Brooke nodded her head.

"I still can't believe she ended things with Adam…" Lucas muttered. "I mean, I'd always hoped that her and Nathan would end up together but towards the end…I just didn't think it was going to happen."

"I know right?" Brooke squeaked. "Isn't it exciting?"

"If he forgives her," Peyton muttered.

"Well of course he's going to forgive her!" Brooke exclaimed. "Maybe not right away, but once he sees that she's being genuine he has to. I mean, she broke off her engagement! And we all know he's still in love with her."

Peyton's phone beeped and she put up a hand as she pulled it out. She frowned as she read the text message before putting it back in her purse and turning to the three expectant faces around her. "Nathan's bringing Carrie."

"Wait, that skanky girl from the other night? I thought she was just a one night stand!"

"Brooke!" Peyton exclaimed. "How do you know she's a skank? She seemed perfectly nice when I met her."

"Oh please!" Brooke waved an arm dismissively. "That girl reeks of skank."

Peyton rolled her eyes.

"What are the two of you bickering about now?"

The four of them jumped and turned to see Haley standing there in front of them. She took in their expressions before turning to Brooke. "You told them didn't you?"

Brooke looked around innocently. "Told them what best friend?"

Haley just shook her head with a smile on her face. She couldn't say she hadn't seen this coming, it was Brooke after all. She looked back up at the group but they all seemed to avert their attention the second she made eye contact with any of them. "What?"

"Shotty not!" Brooke yelled as she jumped back and put a finger to her nose.

"Seriously Brooke?" Peyton asked as she looked at her best friend.

Julian looked between the two girls for a second before jumping back as well. "Shotty not!"

"Shotty not!" Lucas yelled as he looked over at Peyton.

Peyton just shook her head. "You guys are immature."

Haley looked around confused. "_What_ is going on?"

Peyton looked between the other three and when she realised that she was getting no help she shook her head and turned to Haley. "Figures… Okay, Haley…"

"Peyton!"

The five heads whipped around to see a beautiful brunette bounding towards them, one hand swinging beside her as the other practically dragged an annoyed-looking Nathan behind her.

"She looks like a freaking five-year-old…" Brooke muttered under her breath.

"Brooke," Peyton gave her a warning glare. "Play nice."

"Wait," Haley turned towards the rest of the group. "Who's that?"

"That's Carrie," Peyton stated as the couple came up to join them. "She's Nathan's…"

"Girlfriend." Carrie filled in as she looked Haley up and down. "Who are you?"

Haley gave her a slightly annoyed look before giving her a smile. "I'm Haley, I'm Nathan's best friend." She couldn't help but not like the girl, but she knew that that was just because she was with Nathan. She had no right to be upset about this and she knew it. She was the one who had pushed Nathan away, she was the one who had run away when he had told her he loved her and she was the one who had been avoiding him for the past week. He had every right to move on. This girl seemed nice and she was beautiful, maybe she was what Nathan needed, maybe she was what Nathan _deserved_. After all, clearly _she_ didn't hide from her feelings for Nathan. Haley cringed as she looked at their intertwined hands. She couldn't deny the fact that it hurt to see Nathan with someone else, just looking at him with this girl made her want to turn to him and tell him that he belonged with her, that she loved him more than this Carrie girl ever could. But she didn't, it wasn't right. Instead, she held out her hand politely and waited for Carrie to shake it.

Carrie looked at her hand for a few moments before looking up at Haley again. "I don't shake hands…germs and all that."

Brooke looked pointedly towards the hand that was intertwined with Nathan's and opened her mouth but Julian swiftly nudged her side, giving her a pointed look.

"So…" Lucas started awkwardly. "Who's ready for some mini-putt?"

"I am!" Carrie clapped eagerly as they made their way towards the lodge. "I've never mini-putted before!"

The group waited outside as Lucas ran inside to get the putters and pay the fee.

Carrie turned to look at Haley. She looked sceptical. "So, _you're_ Nathan's best friend?"

Brooke looked her up and down. "Is that so hard to believe?"

Carrie still looked dubious. "It's just that…I thought you'd be uglier."

Haley was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Well Nathan's hot," she looked up and smirked. "Obviously. And it's just, hot guys always have ugly girl friends. That way you know you can stay friends. No one wants to date an ugly person."

Haley looked at her incredulously. "So basically, you become friends with ugly people so that you don't fall for them?"

"Well yeah…"

Haley shook her head. Brooke rolled her eyes. Julian looked around anxiously. "Where's Lucas with those goddamn putters?"

Carrie looked up at Nathan. "So you two have never hooked up?"

Nathan looked at her shocked for a moment before he started coughing. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You and…Holly was it?" Carrie looked over at her.

Haley forced a smile. "Haley."

"You and Haley," Carrie corrected.

"Ummm…" He looked around for a second. "Where is Lucas with those putters?"

"I think I see him." Julian announced as he turned his head and called out. "Hey Lucas! We're over here!"

Lucas looked over and seemed to notice the newfound tension in the group before he started to hand out putters.

"Wait," Carrie said as she took her putter and looked warily at it. "This is a _sport_?"

Nathan looked down at her. "Well I would really call mini-putting a sport…"

Haley gave him a triumphant smile. "That's because you always lose to me."

Nathan shot her a glare.

"Natey!" Carrie said sharply, demanding his attention. "I don't do sports."

"Trust me," Nathan put an arm around her shoulders. Haley's stomach churned. "I'll teach you, it's not hard."

Lucas snorted. "I'd like to see that. Nathan sucks at mini-putting."

Nathan shook his head as they headed towards the course. "Whatever, it's not a real sport."

* * *

><p>"Hole in one!" Haley did a little victory dance before reaching down and pulling her ball out of the hole.<p>

Nathan chuckled at how cute she was.

"What?" Carrie asked.

"What?" Nathan asked back.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh," Nathan turned to her. "I was just laughing at Haley's dance."

Haley made her way back to the group and stuck her tongue out at Nathan.

"Well I thought it looked kind of silly," Carrie muttered.

Haley chose to ignore the comment. "Your turn Nathan."

Nathan put the ball down before hitting it, it went past the hole and into the grass before slowing to a stop. It took a few more tries before the ball finally went into the hole.

"Four." Haley smiled smugly as she jotted down his score.

Nathan looked over at her. "How about we play a game of basket-ball after this?"

"No way," Haley shook her head. "I'm not letting you regain you're dignity, not tonight."

"Natey!" Carrie pulled on his arm.

"Yeah?" He turned to her.

"It's my turn, and you promised me you'd teach me."

Nathan gave Haley one last look before turning back to Carrie. "Right. Come on." He walked with her up to the tee and showed her the position she needed to take before taking a step back and letting her take his place. "Put your arms out more…" he instructed.

"I'm not getting it," she exclaimed frustrated before turning to give him a seductive look. "I think you need to show me."

Nathan positioned himself behind her before wrapping his arms around hers and showing her how to hold the putter. Haley watched them from behind and couldn't help the wrenching feeling in her chest. She wanted to turn away but she couldn't. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the man she loved, the love of her life, standing there with his arms wrapped around another woman and she couldn't help that sinking feeling at the bottom on her stomach telling her that she might already be too late…

* * *

><p>"Look who won!" Haley exclaimed as she tallied up the scores on the sheet as they headed away from the golf course. She turned to Nathan, giving him a sly smile. "You know what this means don't you?"<p>

"What kind of ice cream do you want?" Nathan asked with a smile.

Carrie gave Haley an annoyed look as she looped her arm through Nathan's and rested her head on his shoulder. "Will you buy _me_ ice cream Natey?"

Nathan looked between the two women, clearly uncomfortable. "Sure."

Brooke seemed to notice this discomfort and decided to take one for the team. "Carrie I love your purse."

"Really?" Carrie beamed.

Brooke motioned towards here. "Come over here, I haven't had some girl talk in a while."

Carrie looked at Nathan for a second before nodding. "Okay."

She skipped ahead the few steps until she was in line with Brooke, leaving Haley and Nathan to take up the rear. Brooke turned around and gave Haley a pointed look before forcing a smile on her face and turning back to Carrie.

Haley sighed. She had been dreading this moment. "Nathan, I need to talk to you."

Nathan just kept walking. Haley looked over at him but he acted as if he didn't even notice her. He had been acting fine when they were all together as a group but it seemed like the second they were alone he shut her out.

"Nathan, it's about that night a few weeks ago, Lucas and Peyton's wedding when…"

"What? You mean the night when I told you I was in love with you and you ran off?" Haley could hear the anger in his voice.

"Yes." She tried to meet his gaze but he wouldn't look at her.

"Nathan please…" She reached for his hand but he pulled it away.

Carrie squealed up ahead. Both of their heads snapped up to see that she was on the phone with a friend. She snapped her phone shut before turning to all of them. "You guys won't believe what just happened. My friend may have just gotten us tickets to go see Nick Lachey! I have to go pick her up within the next twenty minutes though."

"Ohhh…" Brooke fake pouted. "That's too bad."

"Yeah," Carrie pouted as well. "But raincheck on the ice cream."

"Of course," Peyton smiled.

"Alright," Carrie turned back towards the golf course. "Nathan, do you want to come with me?"

Nathan looked at her for a second before looking back at his friends. "I think I'm going to stay."

Carrie frowned. "But I drove us here, how are you going to get home?"

"He can get a ride with one of us," Brooke cut in. "Don't worry, enjoy your concert!" Before Carrie could even respond Brooke was walking again, waving her hand behind her. The rest of the group waited for a moment before joining her, ignoring the sound of Carrie huffing as she headed off towards her car.

Haley turned around and looked after Carrie for a moment before turning back to Nathan. "Nathan, can we please talk?"

"I have nothing to say to you." Nathan responded.

"Well I have some things I need to say to you." Haley took his hand and got a silent thrill at the fact that he didn't pull away. At this point they were already at the docks and she looked around until her eyes settled on a small table. "Brooke can we…"

Brooke turned to them, already anticipating the question. "Yes, you two need to talk, we were all planning on heading back to my place anyways, just come by after you're done okay?"

Nathan looked like he was about to object but Haley looked at him pleadingly. "Please Nathan."

He looked into her eyes. Big mistake. He could never resist those eyes. "Fine." He tried to sound as indifferent as he could.

"Thank you," Haley sighed in relief as she led him over to one of the tables. She waited for him to sit down but when he didn't she turned to face him instead. "Nathan, I was wrong."

"What?" Nathan looked at her, confused.

"When you told me you loved me, I was wrong to run away…"

"Haley, stop."

"No," Haley shook her head. "Nathan you need to hear this. I was afraid of what I felt for you and so I ran away when you told me you loved me, but the truth is, I feel the exact same way as you do, and I have for as long as I can remember," she took a step forward as her voice lowered to a whisper, "I was just too scared to admit it."

"And what?" Nathan asked sarcastically. "You expect me to believe that for these past seven years you've been in love with me and are just _now_ ready to be with me? What really changed Haley?"

"Nothing! Nathan, I'm telling you the truth!"

"What about Adam?" Nathan asked.

"Things are over between us."

"Ohhh, I see. Adam dumps you and so you decide to come running over to me."

Haley gave him a hard look. "Nathan it's not like that and you know it."

"No Haley. I don't know anything anymore."

Haley looked at him. Did he not love her anymore? Was three weeks all it took for him to fall out of love with her?

"Nathan…"

"No Haley, I've moved on. You can't just come over here and expect that I'll drop everything for you because you got dumped."

Haley's eyes glistened with tears. She didn't know what she was expecting but it definitely wasn't this. "That's not…"

"No Haley, save it, I don't want to hear any more of your lies. I'm sure there's another guy out there that's ready and willing, maybe you can go declare you're love for him instead."

Haley looked at him wide-eyed. "You can't really think that. You can't honestly think that I'm only saying this because of what you said a few weeks ago. Yes Nathan, what you said to me made me face my feelings for you, but I was in love with you long before that. Nathan, you have to believe me, I'm telling you this because _I love you_, not just because you're 'available'. I'm not that desperate."

Nathan just looked at her.

"You don't believe me…" Haley couldn't help the dread that filled her whole being at the expression on his face. She knew she had hurt him, and Brooke had warned her that getting him back might not be easy, but looking into his eyes right now, seeing the way he was looking at her, it was like he didn't even know her anymore.

Nathan turned away from her. "I have to go, I promised Carrie I would meet her later tonight and I have to get some stuff from home."

Haley's felt the ripping in her chest intensify at the sound of Carrie's name and the words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Do you love her?"

Nathan looked back at her and shrugged. "At least if I told her I did she wouldn't run away from me."

"Nathan, I told you I was sorry, I told you I was wrong, I don't know what else you want me to say," her voice was getting desperate as she took a step towards him. "Tell me what you want me to say, or do… please, just tell me how to make this better. I'll do anything."

Nathan turned his head to look at her. "I want you to move on. You're wasting your time and you're wasting mine. Nothing can ever happen between us, you've made that clear more than enough times over the past seven years, and it's sad that it took me this long to see it, but I see it now. I was wrong, we were never meant to be." And with that, Nathan turned and walked back the way he had come, leaving Haley started there with tears rolling down her cheeks and her heart breaking in her chest.

* * *

><p><strong>I know, not the happily ever after you may have been hoping for, but Haley's got to grovel a bit after all she's put Nathan through! Anyways, let me know what you think! You know I love to hear from you guys!<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Hey guys, so sorry for the delay, I got so caught up in school and my laptop suffered water damage, so I needed to re-write stories like these that were pre-written. It's done now though, and there are only a few chapters left to go. Thanks so much for all of you who've stuck with the story! All reviews are much appreciated!**

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><p><em>May 10<em>_th__ 2011_

"What did you say to Haley?"

Nathan stopped dribbling the ball and looked up to see his brother standing under the basket. He stared at him for a second before he resumed his dribbling exercises, revelling in the sound of the ball bouncing against the pavement and the feel of it slipping in and out of his grasp. "I just told her the truth."

"Nathan, I get that you're hurt, and I get that you're mad, but you can't say those kinds of things to her. She's _in love _with you. Do you not understand that? You're breaking her heart."

Nathan looked up at his brother. "Yeah, right."

"Whether you believe her or not is your decision, but she's telling the truth, she really is in love with you. I know you're in a dark place right now, I know the past seven years have really taken its toll on you, and I know it may take you some time to forgive her. But if you love her, and she loves you, isn't that all that matters?"

"She doesn't love me Lucas, she's a little confused that's all. Her 'oh-so-perfect' fiancé dumped her and I've got someone else and she's pissed about it."

Lucas shook his head. "Nathan, this isn't you and you know it."

"But don't you know Luke? This is me."

"No, this is who you were, you've changed Nathan. We've all seen you change. You changed for Haley, because you wanted to deserve her, and now that you do you're just going to throw it all away? You've been waiting for this day for _seven years_ Nathan."

Nathan shook his head. "Don't you see Luke? It was all a lie, all along it was a lie. She was just playing me, I don't know how you can't see it. Haley's just a bitch."

Lucas stepped forward at that and knocked the ball out of Nathan's hands. "Don't you _ever_ talk about Haley that way."

Nathan shrugged. "I guess she's playing you too. Whatever, you guys all want to be naïve that's your choice. I'm done. She can fuck with someone else's head from now on. I'm not playing her games anymore."

Lucas shook his head. "She's not playing games with you Nathan. She was never trying to play games with you. What is wrong with you? This is _Haley_ we're talking about! How can you possibly think this about her? You know her Nathan, you know she would never intentionally hurt someone. She feels _so bad_ that she didn't see it sooner, all she wants is the chance to explain it all to you."

Nathan shook his head. "I don't know anything about her anymore. I see her and I just fall for it again, her games and her lies. She's just a fucking tease, all she wants to do is lead you on until she decides she wants something else."

This time Lucas reached out at punched Nathan square in the jaw. "Don't you _ever_ talk about her like that again! She's my best friend and whether or not you're willing to admit it right now, she's your best friend too. You might be angry, and you might be hurt, but if you _ever _talk about her like that again, you're going to have me to deal with."

"And for the record," Lucas added with a disgusted look, "Adam didn't dump her, she broke up with him _for you_…but apparently she made a mistake."

* * *

><p>Haley took a deep breath as she finished off her story. Lucas had come in a few hours ago and told her about his talk with Nathan, after which he had told her about a conversation he had had earlier in the week with Brooke. He wanted to know why it was she wouldn't let Nathan in, why it had been that she had been unable to accept the fact that she was in love with him. It had been hard to tell him, heck, it had been hard to tell anyone, but she was glad she had, she knew that they needed to know. They were her friends and she wanted them to know everything about her, even the bad stuff.<p>

"Lucas?" He still hadn't responded and she was starting to get nervous.

"You need to tell him this."

Haley was taken aback. "Lucas you know I can't do that…"

Lucas gave her a hard look. "He deserves to know, he needs to know why you spent all those years avoiding your feelings for him. Do you know what he thinks right now? He thinks that you're settling for him just because he's there."

Haley looked into his eyes. "How could he think that? He knows me better than anyone…" He had said something similar that day at the docks but Haley had hoped that they had been words of anger; she couldn't believe that he could actually think that.

"But he's _scared_," Lucas emphasized. "Haley, I'm not saying this to hurt you but you have no idea how many times you've broken his heart over the past seven years. He can't go through that again, and he knows that, so he's trying to protect himself. You need to _show_ him that this is real, that you're not just settling."

Haley shook her head. "But how can I do that? I've tried to talk to him, to find some way to explain to him how much I love him, but it's like he's not even listening to me. And what about Carrie? I asked him about her when we talked, and he practically said he could see himself falling in love with her."

Lucas gave her a pointed look. "Come on Haley. We both know that Carrie doesn't stand a chance. Nathan's hiding with her so that he doesn't have to face what's going on with you."

Haley shook her head. "I don't know. You should have seen his face. I really don't think he wants to be with me anymore, and to be quite honest, I wouldn't blame him if he didn't. God knows I've put him through enough over the past seven years…"

"Don't do that." Haley's eyes snapped up at his forceful tone. "If you do that you may as well have really lost him. Don't make excuses not to be with him, you've done that enough over the past seven years. If you want him, you're going to have to fight for him. He's been fighting for the two of you all along; it's your turn this time. He worked so hard to make you see that the two of you were meant to be together and now you need to do the same."

Haley looked into his eyes for a moment before nodding determinedly. "You're right."

"Good," Lucas nodded. "Now go find him and tell him you love him."

Haley gave him a small smile and leaned in to give him a hug. "Thank you Luke."

Lucas rubbed his hand up and down her back. "What are best friends for?"

Haley gathered up her stuff and headed towards the door but the sound of Lucas calling her name stopped her short and forced her to turn her head. "Yeah?"

"I know you're worried about what will happen, about losing him, but remember, if it's true love the two of you will find your way. Even though Peyton and I broke up, we ended up back together, and I never doubted that; even when we were apart I never stopped believing that she was my true love and that we would end up together in the end. So remember that, you and Nathan are it, I can tell. What the two of you have, that's true love. So don't let go of it, you guys will end up together in the end, I know it."

Haley smiled at him. "Thank you."

Lucas nodded. "Now go get him. You deserve to have your own happy ending."

* * *

><p>Nathan opened his eyes slowly and let them adjust to the light. He loved mornings like these, when he could just lay in bed lazily and think. The first thought on his mind was Haley, it had been that way for the past seven years. He would always lay there and imagine telling her how he felt about her and her being ecstatic and reciprocating his feelings. Then he would imagine the two of them together, a couple, and it always gave him hope. He had always told himself that one day this day would come, he would work up the courage to tell her how he felt about her and he would finally get to be with her.<p>

But not this time, this time when he pictured Haley's face all he felt was pain. He remembered the night he had told her he loved her and then he remembered seeing her last night for mini-putting. He'd thought that he was prepared to be around her again, he'd thought that he was making progress, but the second he saw her face all those emotions came rushing back tenfold and he was right back where he had started.

"Morning sunshine."

Nathan crinkled his brow as he turned his head. There, sitting on the edge of the bed, was Carrie.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here and borrow your clothes last night. I was sure I had taken the keys when I left the house. I'll just call the locksmith or something, I'm sure they'll find a way to fix it."

Nathan nodded as he watched her stand up and stretch. "No problem."

"I have to admit though," Carrie gave him a sly smile. "You passed out pretty quickly when we got back here. I had been hoping we could…" She trailed off as she gave him her most seductive smile, raising her eyebrow slightly.

"Yeah, sorry," Nathan turned on his other side, facing away from her. "I was really tired." There was silence for a few seconds before he felt a hand on his arm.

"I know there's another girl. Peyton told me you didn't want anything serious and well…I'm not stupid Nathan. I can tell you have feelings for Haley."

Nathan turned to look at her questioningly as she continued.

"But she doesn't feel that way about you, I can tell."

Nathan just looked at her blankly for a few seconds before she elaborated.

"When she looks at you she just…I don't know, all I see is pity and trust me when I say you don't want pity. I mean, you're such an amazing guy and you deserve someone who can see that." She ran a finger down his bare chest. "I can see that. And I know why you wouldn't sleep with me last night, I know it feels like you're cheating on her, but she was engaged to another guy Nathan. You _need_ to move on. Let me help you do that." She leaned in for a kiss and Nathan froze. A part of him wanted to turn away but he could hear her words ringing in his ears and he knew she was right, he needed to move on. Her lips were a few inches from his own when the doorbell rang.

Carrie looked up, frustrated. "I'll get it."

She marched down to the front door looked through the peephole before smiling to herself. She wiggled out of Nathan's sweat pants, shook her hair out with her hands and pulled the collar of his shirt off of one of her shoulders before opening the door, a perfectly surprised expression already plastered on her face. "Holly?"

Haley gritted her teeth. "It's Haley, can I talk to Nathan please?"

Carrie gave her a smirk. "Nathan's a little…pre-occupied at the moment."

Haley hesitated for a second before noting Carries attire. She was wearing nothing but Nathan's shirt and from Carrie's appearance the two of them were most definitely occupied. Haley cringed as she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her chest.

Carrie's smirk widened. "Did you want me to tell him you stopped by?" She asked.

"No," Haley choked out as she backed away from the door. "Just…pretend I was never here."

"My pleasure," Carrie smiled as she watched the tiny blonde run off towards her car. She shut the door quietly before reaching behind the door and pulling on the pair of sweatpants Nathan had given her. She pulled back the curtains and laughed softly as she watched Haley's car speed away before heading upstairs.

"Who was that?" Nathan asked once she had reached the bedroom.

"Some advertising guy," Carrie shrugged. "No one you need to be concerning yourself with…"

* * *

><p>"It's too late," Haley shook her head as she wiped her eyes. She had only made it a few blocks before she had pulled over and burst into tears. When her emotions had finally settled she had called Brooke, hoping to get some perspective from her best friend.<p>

"What do you mean? Did you tell him? Haley, it doesn't matter what he says, I know he still loves you, I'm sure he's just trying to protect his heart."

Haley shook her head. "He slept with Carrie, Brooke. He's moved on, he's falling for her, and I can't take that away from him, I have no right, not after everything I've already done. I have to let him go."

"Do you really think you can do that?" Brooke asked.

Haley paused for a second and a fresh batch of tears pooled in her eyes at her realisation. "Maybe not…but I can hide it, I can be his best friend, if that's what he needs then that's what I'll be."

"You say that now but I don't think you realise how hard it's going to be. Are you really prepared to torture yourself like that for the rest of your life?"

"It's Nathan," Haley sniffled. "He's worth it."

* * *

><p>Nathan sat at the bar enjoying his drink as he waited for Lucas and Julian to join him. They were having a guy's night tonight. Carrie had gone to dinner with a friend and Nathan was enjoying the time to himself. He knew that Carrie was right and that he should be moving on, but he just couldn't. No matter how much time he spent with her, all he could think about was Haley. Maybe it would take time for him to get over her and he just had to be patient.<p>

He watched as Lucas made his way into the bar and took a seat beside him. "You talked to Haley?"

Nathan looked at his brother confused. "No… why would I?"

"She…" Lucas paused for a moment. "She didn't come talk to you this morning?"

"No, no one came to see me this morning…" Nathan paused. "Oh…"

"What?" Lucas asked anxiously.

"Someone came to the door but I didn't see who it was. Carrie answered it."

Lucas' eyes went wide. "Carrie?"

"Yeah," Nathan nodded. "She spent the night last ni…" Before he could finish his sentence he felt Lucas' hands on the lapels of his polo shirt.

"You fucking slept with her?! You son of a bitch, I told you that if you _ever _did _anything_ to hurt Haley you were dead and now…you're fucking dead man."

Nathan shook his head before pushing his brother's hands away. "Will you get off me? I didn't fucking sleep with her. And even if I did, it's none of your fucking business."

"If you're hurting Haley, it's my business."

"Well I'm not."

Lucas shook his head in disgust. "She's in love with you, you idiot! How can't you see that?!"

Nathan sighed. "Cut it out Lucas. She's not in love with me, she's confused. Just let her figure it out on her own."

"Let her figure what out?"

"The same thing I had to figure out. We're not meant to be, we never were."

Lucas looked at his brother for a moment before turning away. "You're pathetic." He muttered. "You spend seven years waiting for the girl of your dreams to realise that the two of you belong together and when she finally does, you give up on her."

Nathan turned on his brother. "_I_ gave up on her?! _She_ gave up on _me_! She never even gave us a chance! I waited for her for seven years Luke, _seven years_! If she really loved me she would have realised it before now."

"Maybe she did," Lucas muttered softly.

"What?" Nathan asked.

Lucas shook his head. "You need to talk to Haley."

"No," Nathan sighed. "I'm done. I've done my part, and now I'm just…I'm done."

* * *

><p>"I knew I would find you here," Peyton smiled as she watched her husband dribbling the ball furiously in front of the basket.<p>

"Hey there wifey." His body immediately relaxed as he noticed Peyton walking towards him.

"You missed dinner," she said gently as she approached him.

Lucas looked down at his watch and realised that it was half past seven. He tilted his head back. "Shit, I'm so sorry, I didn't even realise…"

"It's okay," Peyton cut him off, resting her hand on his arm. "What's wrong?"

Lucas gave her a soft smile. She knew him so well. He took her hand and led her over to the picnic table and sat on top of it, pulling her onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her. "I just…" He let out a frustrated breath. "I hate to see Haley and Nathan hurting like this. She's my best friend and he's my brother and it's just…if they would just listen to each other…it seems like everything that could go wrong does. And just when things could finally fall into place for them Nathan just gives up! I've been pushing him really hard, trying to get him to keep fighting but truth be told I can't really blame him. I mean, a few days ago I'd given up on the two of them."

"Hey," Peyton turned in his arms and rested a hand on his cheek. "Do you remember how many things got in the way with us? Everything with Brooke the first time, and the second time," she laughed slightly. "And then when I went to that book signing and saw you with Lindsey…you have no idea how close I was to leaving in that moment. If you hadn't turned when you did, I probably would have left. True love doesn't come easily, that's how you know it's real, you have to fight for it, even when you feel like you're ready to give up. You're pushing him to fight for what you know will make him happy, there's nothing wrong with that."

Lucas leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "What would I do without you?"

Peyton laughed as she heard his stomach grumble. "Starve probably. Come on, let's get you some dinner."

Lucas chuckled as he took her hand and stood up along with her, heading towards the car. "As long as you didn't make chocolate chip cookies."

"Oh, shut up." Peyton gave him a gentle shove. "That was _one_ time, and if I remember correctly, you said it was the best cookie you'd ever tasted."

Lucas looked down at her as his eyes darkened. "It wasn't the cookie that was so delicious."

Peyton look up at him through her lashes and gave him a coy smile. "Yeah, we definitely need to get home."

* * *

><p>"Tonight? But that's such short notice. Can't I just send someone to pick it up? I thought it was supposed to come straight to Tree Hill. Okay, yeah, I'll drive down there tonight. Okay, see you in a few hours. Thanks. Bye." Haley hung up her phone and sighed.<p>

"What's up?" Peyton asked from her desk.

"The new mic for the studio was sent in to Charlotte instead. I'm just going to go and pick it up."

Peyton looked at her watch. "Haley, it's already seven, it takes at least two hours to get there, why don't you just wait until tomorrow?"

Haley shook her head. "Jason's band is coming in to try out the studio tomorrow morning and we still need to set it up and try it out. If I leave now, I can make it back before midnight."

Peyton stood up. "I'll go with you."

Haley raised her hand. "There's enough to do as it is. I'll be quick, don't worry."

Peyton looked at her. "Are you sure?"

Haley nodded. "It's no problem. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Peyton nodded. "But send me a text when you reach and return so I know you're fine."

Haley laughed. "Alright, _Mom_."

Peyton just shrugged and Haley laughed again as she made her way out of the studio and towards her car. She reached in there and pulled out her Wreckers CD. She always saved this for her road trips. She was already humming to herself by the time she had put it in and hit play.

* * *

><p>She had been driving for a little over half an hour when she noticed the flashing orange light on her dashboard. It flashed for a few seconds before the car started slowing down. Haley quickly pulled over to the side of the road. The car beeped. She took the key out before putting it back in the ignition and turning it. Nothing happened. She pulled out her phone and dialled Lucas' number, it went straight to voicemail. She thought about calling Peyton but she knew that she was probably still swamped at the office. There was one other option. Haley quickly dialed his number before she could change her mind. She had promised herself she would be friends with him, no matter how hard it may be she knew she couldn't not have him in her life. She figured now was as good a time as any to test out that friendship, especially considering she didn't have any other option.<p>

"Haley?"

"Hey Nate," Haley smiled. "I have a bit of a favor to ask you."

Nathan was silent as he waited for her to continue.

"Okay so…my car kind of broke down, I'm about thirty miles outside of Tree Hill and I had just been wondering…actually, you know what? Never mind, sorry to bother you, I'm just gonna try Luke one more…"

"Haley," his voice stopped her. "Where are you?"

"Route 67, just past the Cape River."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

And then all she heard was dial tone. She couldn't help but worry her lip between her teeth as she hung up. The last time they had spoken had not gone well and she was nervous about how things would go today. She sighed to herself. _I have to face him at some point_. _May as well be now…_


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who's stuck with me and with this story. I can't express how much I appreciate it. Anyways, the stories almost done, just a few chapters left! I hope you guys enjoy this one, I think it's the one most of you have been waiting for and it was definitely my favorite one to write. Let me know what you think!**

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><p>Haley sighed in relief when she saw headlights in the rear view mirror. She had called for a tow truck right after speaking with Nathan but she knew Nathan would be the first one here, especially considering the speed at which he drove.<p>

He pulled up behind her and she watched as he got out of the car and headed towards her. She popped open the passenger side door and watched as he climbed in. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Haley nodded. "I'm fine."

"Where were you headed this late?"

Haley sighed. "I have a band coming in to try out the studio tomorrow and the mic they were supposed to use was delivered to Charlotte instead of Tree Hill."

"So what are you gonna do?"

"I'll call them when I get home and cancel."

"Is this Jason's band?"

Haley nodded.

"But you guys have been trying to get them to sign with you for weeks!"

Haley shrugged. "These things happen."

At that moment the tow truck showed up and a burly man with a long brown beard came out and inspected the car. "I can have it fixed for you tomorrow ma'am." He said when he was done.

Haley smiled at him. "That would be great, thank you."

"Do you need a ride back?" He asked.

Nathan responded for her. "Nah, I've got her."

She signed her name on the clipboard he handed to her and she and Nathan headed towards his car. "Thanks," she gave him a small smile which he returned as he opened her door for her before making his way over to the driver's side.

He pulled out into the road but instead of making a U-turn he continued forward. "You know how to get there right?"

Haley looked at him surprised. "What are you doing?"

He looked over at her. "We're getting the mic." He saw the look on her face and sighed. "Haley, I know how badly you want this band, come on, it's really no problem."

Haley smiled at him. "Thank you, again."

He gave her a soft smile in return and in that moment, she couldn't help but feel the flutter that rose in her chest. Maybe all hope wasn't lost after all.

* * *

><p>"Haley James?" The man asked as she walked into the shop.<p>

Haley nodded as she handed a piece of identification over him before taking the mic he handed to her, handing some of the wires over to Nathan as the two of them carried it back to the car. By this point it had started to drizzle outside and Haley smiled. She loved the rain.

"Finally," Haley sighed. "Thanks so much." As she got into the car she looked over at the time. "Wow, is it already eleven?"

Nathan nodded he slid into the driver's seat and turned on the radio. "I guess so."

They had only been driving for a few minutes when the rain picked up, turning into to a full out downpour.

"_Routes 64 and 67 will be closed due to flooding and mudslides. I would advise all drivers to take precaution…"_

Haley looked over at Nathan as he turned to look at the radio before pulling out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding a hotel for the night, we've still got another two hours left at the rate we're going, and both exits to Tree Hill are closed off. We can head back in the morning."

Haley nodded, that was probably safest. She pulled out her phone and sent Peyton a quick text letting her know that she would be back as soon as she could in the morning and would set up for the band.

After driving for a few more minutes Nathan pulled into the parking lot of a small motel. "Sorry," he turned to her. "It's not the nicest place…the only others I could find were fully booked already."

Haley rested her hand on his arm. "Nathan, it's fine. Besides, I like it, it's quaint." She looked up at him but his eyes were glued to her hand on his arm. She quickly pulled it back. "Sorry."

They opened their doors and ran quickly into the lobby of the motel. Nathan walked up to the front desk with Haley standing behind him. "One room for the night please. Two double beds."

The lady at the front desk looked up at him with a sympathetic smile. "Actually, we're all booked for the night, with the storm that's come in…" She paused for a second as she looked at the screen. "Oh, actually, we do have one room available, it's only got one double though."

Nathan looked back at Haley and she stepped forward. "We'll take it."

"Okay, now if I could just get your method of payment…"

Haley and Nathan both reached into their wallets for their credit cards. Nathan quickly placed his hand on Haley's arm, halting her movements. "I've got this."

"Nathan…" She started. "You've done enough for me…"

Nathan just shook his head, giving her a soft smile. "I've got this," he repeated before handing over his credit card.

"Thank you." Haley smiled up at him.

"You two are adorable," the lady gushed as she handed back Nathan's credit card before handing them each a room key. "Go down that hallway, it's the third door on your left."

They both nodded, neither bold enough to correct her obvious notion that they were a couple, before heading down towards their room. "I'll take the floor," Nathan stated as they entered the room.

Haley shook her head at him incredulously. "I don't think so, not after everything you've done for me."

Nathan ignored her and he lay himself down on the floor.

Haley looked at him and sighed. "Nathan…"

"You may as well just get into bed," Nathan stated as he looked at her, "because I'm not going to move."

Haley just lay down on the ground beside him. "Have it your way."

Nathan sighed. "You're so stubborn."

He reached up and grabbed the two pillows from the bed before pulling down the comforter, pulling it over himself and Haley. He saw Haley shiver.

"Haley." She turned to look at him. "Get into bed, you're freezing."

She shook her head.

"If you don't get into bed, I'm going to go sleep in the car."

Haley looked at him incredulously but refused to move.

He raised his eyebrows. "You think I'm kidding?" He stood up and made his way towards the door.

"Okay!" Haley exclaimed, stopping him before he could close it behind him. "I'll get into bed! But only if you do too, I'm not having you sleep on the floor."

Nathan nodded, ignoring the quickening of his heartbeat. He was over her, or at least he was going to be.

He peeled his wet shirt off of his body before pulling down his soggy jeans and pulling off his socks. He quickly replaced the pillows and comforter before turning to face the wall.

"What are you doing?" Haley asked.

"Letting you change," Nathan replied.

"Nathan, I don't have a change of clothes."

"That's why I turned around. You sure as hell can't sleep in your wet clothes. You'll get sick."

Haley looked over at him for a second before pulling her shirt over her head and stripping out of her jeans before slipping under the covers in her bra and panties. "Okay, done."

Nathan turned around and climbed into bed beside her. The room was cold and a little damp and he could see Haley shaking beside him.

"Come here." He automatically pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, completely forgetting about their attire until he felt her damp skin flush against his own.

Haley shivered again but this time for a completely different reason as she rested her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso. She could hear his heart racing in his chest.

"Wait," she pulled back slightly. "Is Carrie…I mean, would she be okay with this? I don't want to get you into any sort of trouble."

"Things with Carrie aren't serious; she'll be fine with it." Nathan knew that that second part was most likely a lie but as he lay there with Haley in his arms, he couldn't think of anything other than how right this felt. _So much for getting over her, _he thought to himself with a sigh.

"I don't know, she seemed pretty serious when I came by the other day, and I know that sex might just a casual thing to you, but to me it means something, and the fact that the two of you…"

"Wait," Nathan snapped out of his thoughts as he looked down at her. "What are you talking about?"

Haley met his gaze. "Come on Nathan, I'm not naïve, she was only wearing your shirt, she said you were 'pre-occupied', she…"

"She said what?" Nathan cut her off again. "She stayed the night because she was locked out of her house. I lent her a pair of sweatpants and a shirt and she stayed in the guest room."

Haley looked at him for a moment and as she saw he was telling the truth relief flooded her body. There was still hope. She looked into his eyes for a moment, warring with herself, before taking a deep breath. It was now or never. Lucas was right, he needed to know. "Nathan, there's something I need to tell you. I should have told you a long time ago but I just…" Her voice dropped down to a whisper. "I was scared."

Nathan looked down at her. "Scared of what?"

"Getting my heart broken and…losing you."

Nathan looked at her confused as she took a shaky breath. "Do you remember the year that my mom died? When you moved in with me?"

Nathan nodded.

Haley's eyes watered slightly and her voice shook but she got the words out in a soft whisper. "That was the first time I realised I was in love with you."

Nathan's eyes widened as his body tensed. "Wh-What?"

Haley just nodded as he processed the information before she started speaking again. "You were there for me through everything; I wouldn't have made it through that time in my life without you. I don't know how to explain it, things were just better when you were around. You understood me in a way that no one else ever could and I knew…I was in love with you."

Nathan looked at her and when he finally spoke his voice was an anguished whisper. "Why didn't you ever say anything? All those years I thought…"

Haley reached up and cupped his cheek, his eyes snapping shut at the contact as her own filled with a fresh batch of tears. "I'm so sorry Nathan. I was going to tell you. I was planning on telling you as soon as I realised but then…the thought of losing you, I just…I was _so_ scared. I just, I _can't_ live without you."

His eyes opened at that, his gaze intense. "What made you think you were ever going to lose me?"

"I talked to Lucas the day before I was planning on telling you I loved you. Your knee was doing better and I was going to take you down to the Rivercourt and surprise you but then Lucas called and he asked me about Peyton…he hadn't seen her in almost a year. I thought about before they had gotten together, how they had been best friends; and he was always saving her, the same way you saved me." A few tears spilled over, running down her cheeks before soaking into the pillow. "I thought about what would happen if things didn't work out between us, if we ended up like Lucas and Peyton were at that time and I just knew…I would never survive it. I couldn't lose you and I thought that if I could just get over my feelings for you, I could make sure that that would never happen." She took a deep breath. "But now I realize that by not telling you and by ignoring the way I felt about you I'd already lost you. I know that I hurt you, and that what I did is unforgivable, and I'm so sorry for that but please, just know that I've always loved you, I was just too scared to show it."

By the end her voice had dropped so low it was barely a whisper and tears were streaming down her face but Nathan didn't think he'd ever seen anything more beautiful in his life. He could see the truth shining back at him in her eyes. He could see that she was ready to just be his friend if that was what he wanted, no matter how much it hurt her in the process. At that thought he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He grabbed her face in his hands and fused their lips together.

He rested his forehead against hers as he pulled away. "I love you so much Haley. I never stopped loving you. I could _never_ stop loving you."

Her voice shook as she let out a small sob. "I love you too."

Nathan pulled her to him again, his mouth moving hungrily over hers before he pulled away, looking into her eyes. "This has got to be a dream," he muttered to himself.

Haley shook her head as she brushed her lips gently against his, smiling softly at the wonderment and disbelief in his eyes. It was like he could finally see what she had been trying to tell him for the past three weeks. "It's no dream Nathan, I love you."

His eyes focused on hers once again, more intense than she had ever seen them before. "Say it again," he muttered.

"I love you." She pressed her lips to his cheek. "I love you." At the corner of his mouth. "I love you..."

This time Nathan grabbed her face in his hands as his lips came crashing down upon hers. His head was spinning and his heart was pounding wildly in his chest but he didn't care. He had dreamed of this moment for as long as he could remember but nothing could compare to the real thing. She loved him. She really, truly loved him back. He laughed against her lips.

"What?" She asked him.

"You love me." He smiled, his smile lighting up his entire face.

"I do." Haley smiled back at him.

Nathan laughed again. "This is the happiest moment of my life," he declared before pulling her back to him. He didn't care what happened next, he could handle whatever came his way. As long as he had Haley by his side, he would be just fine.

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is. The moment you've all been waiting for. Let me know what you think!<strong>


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